05.01.2024 – Volume 2, Issue 23

Abatements bring relief to some

process (It canceled a meeting last Thursday because not enough members of the board could attend).

BY WILL DOWD

After months of uncertainty and anger over sharp property assessment and tax increases, many Marblehead residents are breathing a sigh of relief as they receive long-awaited abatement (reduction) notices from the town.

According to Board of Assessors Chair John Kelley,

over 80% of the 334 abatement applications submitted were approved, totaling approximately $541,000 in reduced property taxes.

“The whole idea of doing this was to get it right,” Kelley told the Current.

The Board of Assessors is expected to meet Thursday, May 2, to discuss the results of an audit of the recent assessment

Assessor Karen Bertolino has been placed on paid leave during the audit.

For Beth Wheeler, a longtime resident whose property valuation jumped 70%, the abatement was welcome news. Her annual tax bill, which had increased from $7,300 to $10,300, will now be slightly lower than the previous year at around $7,200.

“I’m beyond grateful that [the Board of Assessors] diligently went through and did the right thing,” Wheeler said. “It’s nice to see a town take responsibility and say, ‘We see you. We hear you, and we’re going to look into this.’”

David Moran, a resident of Marblehead Neck for 35 years and a tax lawyer, received an abatement of more than $2,600.

“I think they guesstimated this and that and everything else,” Moran said. “And that was what broke the camel’s back.”

BY LEIGH BLANDER

A deceased humpback whale that washed ashore near Preston Beach was towed 1 mile out to sea and secured to a mooring on Saturday, while Harbormaster Mark Souza worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and state Department of Environmental Protection to decide what to do next with the 65,000-pound animal. A decision was expected April 30.

The whale, a “pre-adult” female, was 41 feet long and was first spotted Thursday evening.

The town hired Smith Marine of Marblehead to pull the humpback off the beach and out to the mooring.

“Our diver Doug Cassidy took a strap and wrapped it around the tail,” explained Smith Marine’s Matt

BY WILL DOWD

This article is part of a series looking at key warrant articles leading up to the Town Meeting on May 6. The Select Board engaged in a lengthy discussion about the controversial MBTA Communities Act and its mandated multifamily zoning, which Town Meeting voters will accept or reject on Monday. The conversation, initiated by Chair Erin Noonan, focused on whether the board should vote on the zoning article, which they decided not to do. Marblehead is affected by the MBTA

Plauche. “We have a big tow line that floats. The diver attached that to the strap on the tail… then I backed in with the big tug and slowly pulled it” out to sea.

Souza explained the town cannot leave the whale there or hope it floats out to sea.

“We have to deal with it, and we’re still working on how that process goes,” he said. “We’re learning as we go.”

On Friday, Souza said the town might hire a company to dispose of the animal.

“They use the whales for science, fertilizer... nothing goes to waste,” he said.

In talking with other communities that have removed whales, Souza

Communities Act due to its proximity to communities with MBTA commuter rail stations. This mandates zoning changes to accommodate multifamily housing.

— Tioga Way: 29.8 acres designated for 483 housing units at 17.3 units per acre.

— Pleasant Street: 20.6 acres designated for 295 units at 14.3 units per acre.

— Broughton Road: 8 acres designated for 119 units at 14.9 units per acre.

The proposed districts collectively cover 58.4 acres and allow an average

density of 15.9 dwellings per acre, surpassing the state’s requirement to rezone at least 27 acres.

Select Board member Jim Nye expressed strong reservations about the MBTA zoning requirements, calling them “extortion” by the state.

“The state has really put towns and cities in a difficult position on this,” Nye said. “On the one hand, they don’t identify what funding they’re going to withhold for non-compliance.”

He added, “They could withhold all state funding. It’s really a gamble.”

‘Everybody should have another bite at this’

Moran believes that the significant attention to the issue through neighborhood groups and local media facilitated change.

“The word got out,” he said. “Otherwise, we’d have to get at least 25 or 30 groups of people together, make a pitch to the board and likely end up in court.”

He added, “It would’ve taken

DEMOCR aC y

Town Meeting opens Monday

BY WILL DOWD

This article is part of a series looking at key warrant articles leading up to the Town Meeting on May 6.

Marblehead’s annual Town Meeting convenes Monday, May 6, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Veterans Middle School, 217 Pleasant St. All registered voters are welcome to attend, debate and vote on warrant articles. A warrant is similar to an agenda, and lists all the items that need to be voted on. Additional evenings will follow at the same time and location as necessary. In a preview event at the Judy and Gene Jacobi Community Center on April 24, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer and Town Moderator Jack Attridge discussed key items on the warrant and unveiled a new electronic voting system that will debut this year.

One notable change will be the use of handheld “clicker” devices for voting. Attridge touted the system, which has been used successfully in other Massachusetts communities for over a decade, as a way to increase participation, efficiency and voter privacy.

“The clickers are on a very safe network,” Attridge explained. “They have the ability to increase participation in town meeting ... and it also is a time saver.”

He noted that the devices will eliminate the need for written ballots and tellers, though he joked, “I’m gonna miss the interaction with the League of Women Voters.”

‘Hold in place’ at MHS after ‘active threat’ BY LEIGH

BLANDER

Marblehead High School students were in a “hold in place” for about two hours on Monday afternoon, after an active threat was called into the police station. Police searched each classroom and brought in a K-9 unit. Anxious parents, reading about the incident on Facebook, gathered at the bottom of the school’s driveway, while TV helicopters circled above. Just before 3 p.m., interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness sent an email saying that police had “determined that there was no identifiable and credible threat” and students were dismissed. For more information, visit

COURTESY PHOTO / SMITH MARINE

Smith Marine of Marblehead tows the whale off Preston Beach and 1 mile out to sea, where it was secured on a mooring.

COURTESY PHOTO / ABBY NYE

A deceased humpback whale washed ashore near Preston Beach on April 25. The young female weighed about 65,000 pounds.

School Committee to begin interviews of interim superintendent candidates

Asks parents, staff and residents to fill out communication survey

BY LEIGH BLANDER

The School Committee has decided to interview five of the nine candidates who applied for the district’s interim superintendent position. The interviews were expected to begin as soon as Wednesday, May 1 or Thursday, May 2.

“We got more applications than I thought we would get,” Chair Sarah Fox said at a School Committee meeting April 25. “The caliber of them was quite impressive.”

The five finalists are:

» Barbara Cataldo, former Cohasset superintendent, former Milford assistant superintendent Thaddeus King, current Revere principal, former Winchendon interim superintendent

» John Robidoux, current Swansea superintendent David Thompson, current Norwood superintendent Jose Muñoz, acting superintendent in Norwood, adjunct faculty at Salem State There is some confusion about whether Thompson or Muñoz is leading the Norwood schools. Asked why their resumes list them as current and acting superintendent, respectively, Fox answered, “According to their resumes, they were both employed as superintendent at some point during this school year in Norwood. While one is on leave and the other is acting, they both retain the title, as I understand it.”

Fox did not answer which candidate is on leave, or why.

Also at the April 25 meeting, the School Committee approved the hiring of LisaMarie Ippolito

to run student services. The committee said it wanted to create a new title for her as interim superintendent of student services. Ippolito has 30 years experience in education and most recently served as assistant superintendent in Newburyport.

The School Committee is negotiating her salary.

Ippolito will take over the student services after the previous director and assistant director stepped down amid a student restraint crisis. Ippolito said she is not daunted.

“I know some of the trials and tribulations that have occurred over the past couple of years,” Ippolito said. “The silver lining is that I saw this community continues to rally and support this extraordinary staff and extraordinary team, and that is something I’d love to be a part of.”

McGuinness presented other staffing updates:

Glover School principal: A first round of interviews has taken place. A finalist is coming for a site visit on May 2.

Assistant superintendent of finance and operations: Interviews have happened. There should be an update within two weeks.

Village School principal: The search is expected to begin the week of April 29.

Assistant director of human services (half-time): The search is coming up.

McGuinness said the district posted for a project manager to oversee the installation of a new roof at the high school. Proposals are due May 16. Twelve firms have shown interest so far. The contract should be awarded by May 30.

School Committee member Brian Ota spoke about a recent visit to MHS to assess the leaky roof situation first hand. There happened to be a nor’easter the same day.

“Custodians were everywhere with buckets… there was a huge number of leaks,” Ota said, adding it was clear that a new roof needs to be a “priority.”

Athletic fees

The School Committee unanimously approved a new fee structure for athletics and clubs, shifting the funding for those activities mostly to families. The new plan creates a perseason user fee for athletics and an annual fee for non-athletic activities, with a family cap of

$2,060.

Communication survey

In the wake of a letter signed by more than 800 people giving the School Committee failing grades for transparency, it is sending out a communications survey.

In an April 28 press release, the School Committee wrote that it “continues to be committed to improving and increasing their communication with the public. To date, two forums with largely different formats have been held. In an effort to better understand the community’s thoughts regarding communication, the School Committee has created an anonymous survey.”

The press release continued, “Responses will be presented at a future School Committee meeting and shared with the public.”

The School Committee is asking community members, staff, parents and students to respond to the survey by May 10.

The survey can be accessed via the QR code here or by using this link: https://forms.gle/ VZqYCPfoVpkCB4eK6.

Teacher talks

The Marblehead Education Association was expected to meet with School Committee members on May 1 to continue contract negotiations. Educators are demanding, among other things, more paid parental leave.

in contract talks during fiscal crisis

BY WILL DOWD

This article is part of a series looking at key warrant articles leading up to the Town Meeting on May 6.

Marblehead’s second largest municipal union is seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions in their ongoing collective bargaining, but the town’s challenging financial situation is complicating negotiations, according to Terry Tauro, president of IUE/CWA Local 81776. Tauro’s union represents about 100 municipal employees.

“We’re being very creative, more creative than we’ve ever been, because of the intense financial problems that the town is having, and we’re exploring those creative solutions,” she said. Tauro declined to offer details on what those creative solutions look like.

When asked about the negotiations, Finance Director Aleesah Nunley Benjamin said the town does not comment while collective bargaining is ongoing.

As Town Meeting approaches on Monday, May 6, residents will be voting on several warrant articles, including two covering collective bargaining agreements with unions representing a significant portion of the town’s workforce.

“We’re struggling,” said Tauro. “We got off to a very late start, so I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re continuing to meet and everybody on both sides are listening to each other.”

If an agreement is not reached soon, Tauro said the collective bargaining articles may have to wait until after Town Meeting to be resolved. She does not expect

POLICE OFFICERS TOP TOWN’S HIGHEST-PAID EMPLOYEES IN 2023

As Marblehead employee unions and town officials sit at bargaining tables, here is a look at the town’s top earners in 2023, obtained by the Current

1. Police Sgt. Jason Conrad: $247,269

2. Police Det. Sean Brady: $218,545

3. Police officer Daniel Gagnon: $217,676

4. Lt. Michael Everett: $209,826

5. Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer: $201,875

6. Police Lt. David Ostrovitz: $200,532

7. Former superintendent John Buckey: $197,123

8. Police Lt. Jonathan Lunt: $193,916

9. Marblehead Municipal Light Department General Manager Joseph Kowalik: $193,011

10. Police officer Brendan Finnegan: $178,650

To view the full list of town employee salaries, visit tinyurl. com/bdh58mwt. —Will Dowd

it to reach the point of crumbling talks or labor unrest though.

Tauro said her union includes “a diverse group of town employees, from custodians and heavy equipment operators to library staff with advanced degrees.” In total, Tauro estimates that around 80% of Marblehead’s municipal workforce is unionized, including police, firefighters, electric light workers and teachers.

One major issue in the negotiations is attracting and

Teachers and other

spring.

retaining employees. Tauro said Marblehead is losing workers to other towns that offer higher pay, better benefits and lighter workloads.

Another key aspect of bargaining is “housekeeping” — clarifying ambiguous contract language that has led to grievances and arbitration. Tauro said this has become a bigger issue as town leadership turns over.

A new contract with the police union, the MASS C.O.P. AFLCIO Local 437, will also be on the Town Meeting warrant. Tauro said that union has around 40 members.

Educators’ collective bargaining

Marblehead educators, whose contract expires this summer, are also in bargaining talks.

The Marblehead Education Association is set to meet with the School Committee again on May 1.

The MEA requested that negotiating sessions be open to the public, which the School

Committee rejected.

Among other things, the MEA is asking for safer working conditions, more mental health support for students and more paid parental leave for educators.

MEA Co-president Jonathan Heller confirmed that the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, which will be voted on at Town Meeting, includes a placeholder for a 2% pay raise for teachers. He did not disclose what type of increase the teachers are asking for.

Heller said the MEA and Massachusetts Teachers Association will be at Town Meeting to advocate for a “fully funded” schools budget, including paid parental leave.

“We are going to make a full economic proposal in the next few weeks that will detail out what that means,” he wrote in an email.

For more information about Town Meeting, read the Current’s 2024 Town Meeting Guide at MarbleheadCurrent.org.

Leigh Blander contributed to this article.

COURTESY PHOTO

workers

new contracts this

survey.

CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

The School Committee has chosen LisaMarie Ippolito to take over the district’s student services department.

Homeowners’ attorney: Article 41 has

BY KRIS OLSON

This article is part of a series looking at key warrant articles leading up to the Town Meeting on May 6.

On its face, the Marblehead Water and Sewer Department’s request seems simple enough: Let us onto a Neck property to fix a damaged drainage pipe. Once our work is complete, we’ll fill our hole, patch up the property and, with any luck, not return for decades.

But as a discussion at the Finance Committee’s recent hearing on Article 41 on the Town Meeting warrant made clear, the Water and Sewer Department has excavated something else — a long legal history in which two Massachusetts courts have established that the town has no claim to the property.

That set up what the current property owners’ attorney suggests will be a prohibitively expensive battle, if the town insists on continuing to try to use the eminent domain process to take a 20-footwide easement to gain access to the property.

The better course would be for the town to explore other options to reroute stormwater, attorney Michael R. Landers of Topsfield said at the hearing.

Town loses long court battle

The property in question is 297 Ocean Ave., but Article 41 references “Fishing Point Lane,” which became the subject of a two-decade-long legal battle in 1994, when the town posted a sign reading, “To the Water. Please Enjoy This Public Way.”

The sign had its desired effect, as what had been sporadic foot traffic on the lane swelled to “crowds” in the mid-to-late 1990s, the Massachusetts Appeals Court would later recount.

The increased use of the lane prompted

then-owners Paul and Patricia McLaughlin to ask a judge to determine whether the public had any rights in the property. They filed a petition seeking to register title to three contiguous parcels of land on the Neck, including 297 Ocean Ave. In 2001, a Land Court judge ruled that Fishing Point Lane was not a public way as a matter of law. While the town had included Fishing Point Lane in a laying out of roads on Marblehead Neck in 1918, it failed to take possession of it within two years, which under the controlling statute automatically voided the town’s action, and title to the property reverted to its then-owner.

Nothing that had happened in the decades since reestablished Fishing Point Lane’s status as a public way, the Land Court judge also ruled. The judge specifically rejected the town’s argument that it was entitled to a prescriptive easement because it had not assessed taxes on the property between 1918 and 1977, had discussed the maintenance of Fishing Point Lane at public meetings and had included the property in a 1995 grant application.

On March 23, 2007, the Appeals Court affirmed the Land Court’s decision.

A ‘scary’ prospect

Landers said his clients, Mike and Mary Ellen Kaczynski, had no way to anticipate that the town would be seeking to take what he characterized as “about a third of my clients’ property” when they bought it back in 2015. Article 41 describes the easement area as 6,710 square feet, while the Kaczynskis own 22,882 square feet of land, according to town land records.

Landers told the FinCom that the Kaczynskis’ property “is probably worth somewhere in the range of about $5 million,” perhaps

of a galvanized pipe might start to rot.

At the outfall at 297 Ocean Ave., the pipe behind the head wall has broken. Left unaddressed, the head wall will start to crack and fall out, and the water will recede further back into the property, McHugh explained.

a reasonable estimation of what it would sell for on the open market, given that the main property at 297 Ocean Ave. was most recently assessed at $3,154,900, while a small, contiguous undeveloped parcel that the couple also owns was assessed at $25,700.

“You can do the math in your head and see what the compensation may be from the town standpoint to pay to acquire an easement that, as written right here, will absolutely and completely restrict their ability to use one third of their property,” Landers said.

Landers added that the town would “probably face years of litigation” if it continued down the eminent domain road culminating with “a contribution in this that’s probably in the seven figures and maybe even upwards into the seven figures.”

Landers said he and his clients have appreciated their conversations with Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer and Water & Sewer Superintendent Amy McHugh to work towards a resolution.

But the FinCom hearing offered a glimpse of just how far apart the sides are.

The way Landers sees it, the town is “trespassing” on the Kaczynskis’ pipe by moving stormwater through their property. At any point since they acquired the property, the Kaczynskis would have been within their rights to dig up the pipe and remove it or block the end of it, Landers said.

While that is not something the couple has contemplated, Landers

called the prospect of the town taking easement rights “scary.”

“This could happen to anybody in the town who owns property,” he said. No plans to stay

McHugh noted that the town has more than a few drainage and sanitary sewer pipes running through private property by virtue of easement rights.

What is happening at 297 Ocean Ave., the site of one of over 60 outfalls across town, is hardly uncommon, McHugh said.

“This is what we’re going to see with all our drainage pipes,” McHugh said.

She noted that such pipes can work just fine for 50 or even 100 years, but then repeated freezing and thawing might break down a clay pipe, or the bottom

The Water and Sewer Department has begun a design for the job, which would be put out to bid, as it is too big for the department to accomplish in house, McHugh said. Equipment would have to be brought onto the property to do the work. But once the work was complete, the department’s plan would be not to return for a long time, McHugh said.

“We wouldn’t be on this property all the time,” McHugh said.

The town and property owners disagree as to whether redirecting the stormwater elsewhere is an option.

Given the topography, creating new drainage in the area would be cost prohibitive, Kezer said.

“If there were other avenues for the town to address the drainage in that area, it would pursue it, but there’s not,” Kezer said.

But Landers suggested that the damage to the

pipe may not be from ordinary wear and tear but rather from the town forging a connection that dramatically increased the amount of flow through it. He said he and his clients have seen engineering reports that indicate the town has options aside from digging up his clients’ property.

Throwing up their hands

Members of FinCom pressed — largely unsuccessfully — for more information about just how big of an expenditure it was being asked to recommend.

Passage of Article 41 would authorize the Select Board to “enter into any and all agreements to effectuate the purpose of this article.” Kezer said a professional appraiser would establish a dollar value for the easement based on the impact on the value of the property. But that offered insufficient comfort to FinCom.

“We’re supposed to advise on financial matters, and I don’t even see any numbers,” Vice Chair Molly Teets said. The committee then voted unanimously to recommend indefinite postponement of Article 41.

EDITORI a L

Opinion

Come on down

It’s that time of year again! On Monday night, Town Moderator Jack Attridge will gavel our annual Town Meeting at the Veterans School Performing Arts Center to order, and what an event this looks to be. A combination of 53 government and privatecitizen-sponsored articles comprise this year’s town warrant, many of which are routine, some of which are controversial and, of course, there is the budget for the next fiscal year. It appears that our town leaders and the Finance Committee have put together budget proposals that will not call for a general Proposition 2 1/2 override. Given the town’s unwillingness to support such overrides in recent years, this is commendable.

As for potentially controversial articles, we have Articles 24 and 25 (adoption of local meals and room taxes), Article 34 (adding a new Community Development and Planning Department), Articles 35 (placing the Assessing Department and the town assessor under the supervision of the finance director) and 38 (changing assessors from elected to appointed positions), Article 37 (increasing the membership of the Board of Health from three to five members), Articles 43-45 (leaf blower issues, which have become part of the annual rite of spring at the PAC), Article 49 (to rescind the vote of last year’s Town Meeting that changed the one-year terms of Select Board members to staggered threeyear terms), Article 50 (to add recall of elected town officials provisions to our bylaws) and last, but not least, Article 36 (to adopt multifamily overlay districts, or what we might simply identify as the MBTA Zoning Law).

Over the course of the past many weeks, we have both reported on and opined about most if not all of these controversial articles, and there has been much public discussion and debate on the merits — or lack thereof — of each of them, some more heated than others. Now it’s time for voters to decide all of these issues.

And as we approach this year’s Town Meeting, our readers will hear, and many will say, “This (open town meeting) is the purest form of democracy.” And who among us can disagree? For all that it takes is for each registered voter to come to the PAC, listen and/or speak to the substance of each and every article, and cast their vote up or down.

But yet, almost all of our eligible voters stay away, some for very legitimate reasons (failing health, work or family obligations, inability to secure childcare and the list goes on). But what of those who can but simply choose not to attend, thereby forfeiting their right to determine these important issues?

We have in excess of 16,000 registered voters in Marblehead at this time. The Performing Arts Center seats just over 700 people, and while there is overflow seating in the Veterans Middle School gymnasium, rarely is there a crowd at that site. If 5% of eligible voters exercise their right to decide the future of Marblehead by attending Town Meeting, that is considered to be the norm.

So, while we have this pure form of democracy, it would appear that apathy rules, and to a large extent many important and impactful decisions are made by a small minority of ‘Headers each year. We think this is a poor reflection on local participatory government, and we call on all of our readers who have the ability to come to the PAC this year and cast your votes.

You will find pleasant surprises awaiting you: Electronic clickers will be used to expedite the counting of votes, and certain standard articles will be bundled to eliminate repetitive presentations on related matters.

So, grab an early dinner and come on down to the PAC this coming Monday. Be part of democracy in its purest form.

LETTERS POLIC y

The Current welcomes letters to the editor and strives to represent a range of viewpoints on our opinion pages.

Letters must include:

The author’s name. Unsigned letters and form letters will not be published.

» The name of the street on which the author lives in Marblehead. Only the street name will be published next to the author’s name – not their full address.

» The author’s daytime/cell phone number for verification purposes (not publication). Letters must be received by our newsroom directly from their writers (for special circumstances, contact the newsroom). Email submissions to info@ marbleheadnews.org or use the submission form found at marbleheadcurrent.org/letters.

EVERy THING WILL BE OK ay

An education worth fighting for

BY VIRGINIA BUCKINGHAM

Congratulations to all the high school seniors who have just committed to the college they will attend this fall. Maybe it was your first choice, maybe it was your safety, or somewhere in between. Whichever it was, this is the opportunity to buy mom that coffee mug she so desires for Mother’s Day and dad his higher-educationbranded belt come his day in June. Oh, and set your path for a lifetime. Or, end up on a path you can hardly conceive of now. It’s that latter possibility I urge you to keep an open mind to.

I remember the precise calculation and deep thinking that went in to choosing the college of my dreams. Yes, the cover of the Boston College admission booklet with iconic Gasson Hall framed by a pink flowering tree was all I needed to know — this was the place for me! So BC was the only college I applied to and I brazenly (read: stupidly) declared if I didn’t get in, I wasn’t going to college. Luckily it worked out in that less competitive time and got me to Boston and completely set me on a path to the life and the family I have now.

But with the wisdom of age, I know now it could have gone a different way; I could have not gotten in; I could have ended up elsewhere or not gone to college at all and guess what … everything would have been okay. It’s one of those pieces of knowledge that you can’t pass on to someone who hasn’t experienced enough life yet.

Or this truth:

If you show up on campus in September and, after giving it a try, it doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to stay. Attending the college you first choose is not a prison sentence. You can transfer.

You can take a year off. You can go tend bar in Bali (sorry parents!).

When I was 17, I thought there was only one path. Maybe because my career got derailed later in life I’m able to see through the chaos of uncertainty to this clarity — it will all work out.

My only other words of wisdom to offer are not mine at all, but of a once-young-man from Salem who went on to a storied journalism career.

David Shribman was Washington D.C. bureau chief for the Boston Globe in the mid-1990s where he won a Pulitzer. That’s when I first got to know him, and we’ve kept in sporadic touch over the years as he went on to serve at other papers including for 16 years as executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In researching this column, I came across an entry that he had decided to retire from that role right before the killings at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue. He stayed on and is responsible for the front page headline, in Hebrew and Aramaic, featuring the start of the Jewish prayer for mourning – a choice that reverberated around the world.

If that doesn’t tell you he’s a mensch — a man of deep goodness — please read, and urge your collegebound senior to read, Shribman’s latest piece in The Atlantic, entitled “The man who died for the liberal arts.” theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/ philip- shribman-liberal-arts-wwii/677836/

GUEST COLUMN

It is a remarkable piece of writing. It is a story straight from the heart. It is a tour de force in defense of an idea that shouldn’t need defending — that an education devoted to exploring a broad sweep of subjects — music, arts, history, language, economics, philosophy – is worthy.

More than worthy, essential.

In The Atlantic piece Shribman describes a letter that his Uncle Phil, who had enlisted in the Navy in World War II wrote onboard a ship in the Pacific to David’s then-18-year-old father Dick who was about to depart for college.

It’s hard to imagine in an era when having the ROTC on campus is controversial but Shribman describes how colleges and universities in the U.S. were shifting their curriculums to train students for the war effort.

“What you’ll learn in college won’t be worth a Goddamned,” Phil wrote to Dick. “But you’ll learn a way of life perhaps—a way to get on with people—an appreciation perhaps for just one thing: music, art, a book—all of this is bound to be unconscious learning— it’s part of a liberal education in the broad sense of the term.”

He went on, “In a liberal school you know ‘nothing—& are ‘fitted for nothing’ when you get out. Yet you’ll have a fortune of broad outlook—of appreciation for people & beauty that money won’t buy” and “learn that life has beauty & fineness.”

Afterward, it’s all “struggle, war: economic if not actual—Don’t give up the idea; ideals of a liberal school— they’re too precious — too rare — too important.”

I remember even 40 years ago feeling like I had been foolish for not applying to BC’s school of business, where my roommates were immersed in practical learning, sure of their post-college career, with recruiters all over campus ready to hire them. I was, I thought, “fitted for nothing.” And in a world now where the price of college is absurdly high, and students are often lured by a lucrative post-college career to study finance or artificial intelligence or the like, Shribman’s uncle, not quite 22, was trying to convey something that ought to be supported now.

“Look around you—keep your eyes open—try to see what’s what—hold onto the things that you know to be right,” Phil Shribman wrote. “They’ll shake your faith in a lot of the things you now think are right—That’s good—& part of education—but look around & try to make up your own ideas on life & its values.”

I can’t truly do justice to the entirety of the story

David Shribman tells. Phil Shribman was killed in action. As a father, a journalist and a lifelong learner, Shribman has explored and been guided by the wisdom of an uncle he never got the chance to know ever since. And now he’s shared that wisdom with the rest of us. What a gift.

President of the Marblehead Current’s board of directors, Virginia Buckingham is the former chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, chief of staff to two Massachusetts governors, deputy editorial page editor for the Boston Herald and author of “On My Watch: A Memoir.”

Another chance to answer call

BY REP. JENNIFER ARMINI

Comedian Bill Burr recently joked on a podcast that Marblehead is its own sovereign nation. We have a reputation for being independent and strong-willed, virtues worth celebrating. But there are decision points at which it’s necessary to carefully consider the larger context within which Marblehead exists — the forces shaping our quality of life, the future we hope to secure for our children and our role in the larger Commonwealth. Voting at Town Meeting on the Marblehead Planning Board’s proposal for how we could comply with the state’s MBTA housing law is one such decision point. Enacted in 2021, the law requires

“The MBTA Communities Law was enacted to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory,” warned AG Andrea Campbell.

the 177 cities and towns with access to MBTA services to set aside areas within which multi-family zoning could be built by right. (I stress “could” because this is not a building mandate; it’s a planning mandate.)

The Marblehead Planning Board was charged with creating the town’s response. It led a model process for soliciting community input, incorporating feedback and suggestions, and ultimately leveraging one of the town’s strengths — its existing density. The resulting plan is embodied in Article 36. We owe the board a debt of gratitude. And we owe the plan

our vote.

For some, the fact that the state would intervene in local zoning decisions is reason enough to vote against it. At each of the three public information and listening sessions I attended, recently retired town planner Becky Curran Cutting, anticipating the mood, said repeatedly, “No one likes a mandate.”

In reality, several existing laws already override local zoning control in an effort to address longstanding housing inequities. A 2023 report published by the

More Municipal Musings: An open letter to voters

BY JAMES (SEAMUS) J. HOURIHAN III

Here are more musings regarding two “over” issues facing municipal Marblehead.

Prop 2

½ AND overrides

— a new reality for Marblehead? In Marblehead, the word “override” is considered two, four-letter words that should never be spoken in public or even in private. Speaking simply, Prop 2 ½ limits tax growth, and consequently the additional money for the town to spend, to 2.5% per year. If the costs are rising more than 2.5% per year, the only options are to cut services, find new tax opportunities or pass a permanent override.

Since January 2021, the national monthly Consumer Price Index has been above 2.5% in 36 of 39 months. More locally, consider these increases facing the town as reported in a February finance forum:

» Contractual obligations

(salaries): 5% per year

» Medical insurance: 6%-8% per year

Retirement contribution: 8%-9% per year

Trash collection: 20% for FY25

Note that these increases impact both the school and nonschool sides of the budget.

The fact that Marblehead has

LETTERS

‘It’s a zoning issue, but a building mandate’

To the editor:

Several years ago the state created 40B — a law to begin to address the crying need for affordable housing. Developers in Marblehead acquired land and built a couple of projects — Intrepid Circle at Peach Highlands and Oliver’s Pond on Humphrey Street.

Turns out they are very attractive and a boon to the town’s tax base, and the world of Marblehead did not come to an end.

Fast forward to today. Massachusetts has among the highest and fastest-growing home prices and rents of any state in the nation. Now Massachusetts has taken the next step requiring that towns identify areas that could be developed more densely and designate those areas as available by right if a developer comes along and wants to negotiate with the town or property owner for a multiunit project.

Inevitably these multifamily units will be less expensive than single family homes so they add to the housing options in town for our kids graduating from college and getting into the workforce, for senior citizens who need to downsize and for teachers who would love to live where they work but can’t afford it.

There is not a requirement in the state law that these be so-called affordable units, but Marblehead is requiring that 10% of developments of six or more units be affordable. Some people are complaining that they don’t want to be told what to do by anyone, let alone the state.

In this case our own Planning Board has worked out a map that complies with state requirements. This is all that was required. It is a zoning issue, not a building mandate. If and

not passed a general override in decades is simply amazing, in many ways:

» How much inefficiency was in our town operations.

» How we have managed to find other monies.

How we have pushed the costs to residents in other ways.

» How we have learned to live with reduced services.

It’s highly probable we have maxed out our ability to do this.

The proposed FY25 general fund operating budget is in part funded with $5.5 million in “free cash.” That’s 5.4% of the total $102.6 million budget. Another $1 million in “free cash” is used for the FY25 capital budget.

“Free cash” is money left over when the town collected more money and/or spent less than expected in prior years.

Using $6.5 million in FY25 will leave a projected “free cash” balance of $2 million before any additions in FY25. Assuming no additions, how will we make up the $4.3 million difference?

Unlike the federal government, Marblehead can’t simply print more money.

As a fully developed community, Marblehead has very limited options for increasing revenues. The new proposed rooms and meals tax will help but not nearly enough. I don’t advocate the repeal of Prop 2 ½ since it does provide an unburdened way to increase town revenues each year. It also forces in-depth scrutiny of all budgets.

Unless there is a Marblehead

Magician that can pull boatloads of money out of their hat, we will probably need an override sooner than later. The Finance Committee, given their support for overrides for the FY23 and FY24 budgets, would probably agree. However, they need to market that possibility throughout the calendar year and not wait until the month before Town Meeting. They also need the School Committee to get their act together first. They should host forums at least quarterly in venues where voters, especially those without school-age kids, congregate. They need to get thought leaders in each of these groups understanding. They need to make it simple to understand. I have not seen one presentation that is simple enough.

One of our town leaders is quite fond of saying, “Marblehead has no appetite for an override.” I guess Marblehead is like a person diagnosed with anorexia nervosa that feels hungry but restricts food intake. Will Marblehead whither away or will it bite on an override eventually?

The word “override” should not be viewed as two, fourletter words but as a necessary reality — a tool, sometimes used, to continue to provide quality municipal services in inflationary times, which makes Marblehead a desirable place to live and raise a family, which preserves and increases real estate values. And yes, we do need to provide more significant

support for older residents living on a fixed income.

“Tea Party” idealists and town realists

Now the word “overlay” is not quite two, four-letter words, but it might just as well be. Without any requested override on the Town Meeting agenda, Article 36 looms as the most contentious on the docket.

This article deals with the state-imposed compliance with MBTA Communities Act. This act mandates that all municipalities with or adjacent to MBTA rapid transit services lower the permitting barriers to multifamily housing. It doesn’t remove underlying zoning requirements such as site planning, architecture, building heights, landscape design, offstreet parking requirements, etc. But it adds building dimensional and density requirements that are relevant for multifamily housing.

Most importantly, it does not require any multifamily housing to be built.

This battle pits “Tea Party” idealists versus town realists.

The “Tea Party” idealists state this act is troublesome, invasive, coercive, unconstitutional.

Sound similar to the Boston Tea Partygoers? They also argue that the state-mandated measure could detrimentally alter the town’s character and overburden its infrastructure and services — roads, schools, police, fire, etc.

The idealists are inciting fear with rapid hand waving high above their heads.

The realists are also hand

when a developer comes along, the town will have much to say in the design.

There has always been a hue and cry about changes and a few years later, it turns out we remain a charming, historic and welcoming place to live and raise our families.

We also need a mix of folks in town. It’s the American way and will keep the town alive and vibrant. Any possible growth will be gradual. We are not going to be overwhelmed by an influx of hordes of families overcrowding our schools and causing traffic jams. You know that’s not going to happen.

Instead of resenting being “told what to do,” we should be grateful to live in a state that is addressing real issues that real people face in ways that ease into solutions and invite towns to take on their share in a very moderate way that enhances life for all of us.

On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Marblehead, Mimi Hollister Gardner, Glover Square; Bonnie Grenier, Sagamore Road

To comply or not with MBTA zoning law

To the editor:

If you haven’t been paying attention, you may not know that the MBTA Communities Act, passed by the Massachusetts Legislature and signed by thengovernor Charlie Baker in 2021, compels 177 cities and towns served by the MBTA (except Boston) to change a minimum area of the town/city’s land

to apply zoning changes to allow more dense, multifamily housing. If a community does not comply with this law, it risks loss of potential state grants and may face litigation. Does that sound like a threat? For over a year, town planning and zoning boards and concerned citizens have been debating and deliberating. Now, some are involved in litigation as defendants and plaintiffs. This past February, Milton, voted down a plan for complying with the law, and in just a matter of days, Attorney General Campbell filed suit. In 2022, Rockport filed a lawsuit against the state. Now, it’s surely time that Marblehead not only pay attention but get involved — it’s our town, after all! Research what compliance to this state law involves. Ask neighbors if they know about the law. Go to the state’s website, search for “MBTA Communities zoning law” and review a long list of requirements for Section 3A of MGL c.40A, which outlines compliance. Is compliance the only option?

Marblehead’s in-person 2024 Town Meeting begins at 7 p.m. May 6 at Veterans Memorial Middle School, 217 Pleasant St. With seats for about 300 in the Performing Arts Center and some more in a “spill-over” room, once it’s at capacity, one won’t be allowed to enter to cast a vote on any of the articles on the town warrant. Article 36 is the one that concerns accepting or rejecting the Planning Board’s best-effort proposal to comply, with three areas being offered up.

(Reference: Marblehead Current, April 15: “Controversial

waving to poo-poo the threats. They say “so what” if the act is Invasive or coercive. It will have very little, if any, impact on a fully developed community with current land use and existing building density like Marblehead. Non-compliance will jeopardize state funding for roads, bridges, sea walls and other infrastructure projects. Non-compliance will require even more money for lawyers.

Since fear is an emotion that is difficult to quell, the Planning Board needs to make their arguments real tangible:

How much state funding is at risk in existing and potential projects? In an April 8 FinCom meeting, a number of $1millionplus projects were verbally identified including $11 million for the Village Street bridge. Put the list in writing!

Get a developer or three to describe why multifamily housing development is not viable in Marblehead’s proposed overlay districts.

And money for lawyers? Like a wise Marblehead seagull, we should let the town of Milton seagull spend its energy and money to attack the Massachusetts state fish. If they are successful, we can easily swoop in and reap the benefits. Stay tuned for more musings soon.

Seamus Hourihan was born in Marblehead and is a MHS graduate. For 35 years, he worked in finance, marketing and executive management roles at high-tech companies. He has lived here fulltime since 2009.

is “benign” just because we’re told it is?

Sue

MacInnis Bayview Road

MBTA zoning impact analysis

To the editor:

MBTA zoning changes head to Town Meeting) Although much effort has been put forth by the Planning Board to create a compliant proposal, it does not mean that this plan — or any plan to comply — is what’s best for us, either now or in the future. We seem to do an OK job of planning for multifamily housing at the density already proposed — all without state interference. The new law designates a maximum of 10% of the multifamily housing in these selected districts to be affordable. With pending lawsuits involving towns like Milton and Rockport, it should be known that any ruling against the state and in favor of a town won’t absolve Marblehead from having to comply, should it vote now in favor of compliance. In a Marblehead Current article March 28, “Petition opposing MBTA Zoning Proposal Surfaces,” there were interesting comments from Planning Board Chair Robert Schaeffner:

“I’m sensing a reaction from people — I understand an American sort of urge to not be told what to do — this unbridled freedom thing, but when you look at the big picture, if you find there’s no harm to the town from a proposal that absolutely is benign, sensible and meets all the requirements. I don’t really understand why someone would tell us to turn it down.”

After your own research and the considerations above, I urge Marblehead to vote against compliance at this time and watch the outcome of current litigation. Should we rely on trusting that the proposed plan

The proposed MBTA Zoning changes will have a major impact on Marblehead, especially on traffic and the school system. It will also change the character of Marblehead, not just the rezoned and their adjacent neighborhoods.

To develop a realistic estimate of the impact, I reviewed Article 36 as written in the town warrant, the PowerPoint presentation that the Planning Board posted, Patriot Properties information regarding properties in the proposed overlay districts and the town GIS maps.

» First, take a look at the Requirements vs Proposed table in the PowerPoint. The land area proposed is 54.7 acres compared to the required 27 acres, double the requirement! It doesn’t make any sense to double the overlay districts area and extend it into more neighborhoods except to be able to claim a lower “average” density.

» Their density claims of 17.5 (average) units per acre compared with 15 required is way understated. According to the warrant Article 36, Table G Dimensional and Density Requirements and the legends of the overlay district maps, the maximum density allowed is actually 20 units/acre. Even worse is I can’t find anything in Article 36 that limits the number of units that can be built in a district. Given the cost and shortage of land in Marblehead and other cost factors, it seems likely that most developers will maximize the density of their projects. Check out the examples in their PowerPoint. Marblehead

CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD

Broughton Road is one area identified for more multifamily housing.

Traffic committee talks roundabouts, other measures to improve safety

BY WILL DOWD

The Traffic Safety Advisory Committee is discussing a range of measures aimed at improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists, including two roundabouts in town.

The first proposed roundabout is at Lafayette Street and West Shore Drive.

“After we sat with the consultants, it seems like it could be a viable option,” said Public Works Superintendent Amy McHugh, who was skeptical at first.

The second roundabout would be near the Glover School where Maple Street, Tedesco Road and Humphrey Street meet. McHugh emphasized that these would be roundabouts, not rotaries.

According to the state Department of Transportation, “Roundabouts are designed with slow vehicle speeds in mind and their central island and traffic separator islands make drivers react to them and force them to slow down. Rotaries are

large circular intersections with wide sweeping lanes that allow vehicles to drive at much higher speeds.”

Next steps include working on more detailed designs and identifying costs.

In addition to the intersection redesigns, the committee reviewed plans for a new sidewalk on Lafayette Street that will run from the Salem city line to Maple Street. McHugh said the sidewalk will be built on the cemetery side of the street and

connect to an existing sidewalk at Maple Street. The project will be put out to

bid in the coming weeks. The estimated $150,000 cost will come from funds approved in a

Eileen Haley

Highlands (20 units/acre) is an excellent example of what will likely be developed sooner rather than later.

» Let’s consider the potential impact on Marblehead’s population and the increase in the school population.

According to the state, familyfriendly development is encouraged. It seems likely that many of the target number of 899 family-friendly units will include at least two bedrooms and many three. This means at least two occupants for most and certainly, in many cases, one or two children as well. This could result in an initial increase in the town population of over 2,000 — 10% and several hundred added to the schools. But given the lack of any upper limits on the “as of right” number of units allowed, there really isn’t any upper zoning limit on development for the long term.

» The ongoing message from the town has been, “just because we pass this it doesn’t mean that much will really be built” is hard to believe given that even small Capes are selling for over $600K. I reviewed the proposed overlay districts on Patriot Properties looking for some of the lowhanging fruit. Tioga Way presents a great opportunity to develop a number of condominium projects given that several properties, as the PowerPoint points out, are underutilized. For example, just by combining 10, 16, 20, and 24 Tioga Way this land would support 25 to 30 units alone!

» Neighborhood impacts. Another issue with the Tioga Way district is that the Planning Board expanded the area from the immediate Tioga Way area to several of the surrounding neighborhoods. It appears that one object was to reduce the “average” density of the district. However, as an engineer, the devil is in the detail. Taking advantage of the maximum residential density of 20 units (up to 60 bedrooms) per acre and the reduced minimum lot area of 6,000 square feet from the single residential 10,000 square feet will have a major impact on the neighborhoods!

Consider that by combining three adjacent lots, a developer could be able to

build a 15-unit, three-bedroom condo or apartment house in a single family district. The residents of the included and adjacent neighborhoods need to take a look around their neighborhood and try to figure out if there are underdeveloped lots that could be redeveloped from single to multifamily units. What about Broughton Road District? The 1950s two-unit, three-bedroom houses contain 28, three-bedroom units for a total of 84. The new zoning would allow as many as 60 units and 180 bedrooms. This could triple the number of students from Broughton Road attending our schools. Have we heard anything from the town regarding future plans to redevelop this 75-year-old housing? How would this development be funded? Don’t expect much help from the state!

» Finally, as Atty. DiPiano points out in his informative letters and from legal challenges by communities such as Milton, there are serious questions as to whether or not the legislature has the authority to override the Massachusetts home rule constitutional provision. If they browbeat Marblehead and the other so-called “MBTA” communities into adopting this questionable law, what will they do next? Require towns to build city-styled housing projects?

To summarize, adoption of this onerous zoning change is not in the best interest of Marblehead and would never have been initiated voluntarily by our town. Marblehead voters should seriously consider their decision on Article 36. (Note that a 2/3ds vote is needed for approval.) If defeated, Marblehead should join the other opposing communities in overturning this unlawful attempt by the Legislature to change the character of Marblehead. If the communities do not prevail in the legal challenges, then Marblehead should work within our community and negotiate with the state to develop a zoning plan that is in Marblehead’s best interests.

Gregg Thibodeau Nonantum Road

Proposed zoning changes are good for the environment

To the editor:

In considering Article 36 on the Town Meeting warrant presented in answer to the state’s MBTA Communities Act, one question that needs to be asked is does it have any implications for Marblehead’s climate resiliency. And, if so, what are they?

In our view, there are three implications of consequence.

One, the article supports new housing to be located near public transit, thus contributing to a reduced future need for and use of cars which are currently one of the largest contributors to Marblehead’s carbon pollution. The article will mitigate, not increase, the flow of car traffic in Marblehead.

Two, the article will promote housing that will embody climate-friendly technologies, such as heat pumps, solar panels and thermal glass, all of which are protective of the environment and reduce costs for homeowners and renters. This new housing will serve as a model for responsible climatefriendly construction.

Three, the article supports a housing configuration –multifamily – whose design inherently has a lower environmental impact than single family housing through more effective use of open land and more efficient use of interior living space. It also has the added benefit of providing more affordable and transit-friendly housing for young families and seniors who are currently priced out of the Marblehead real estate market.

So, yes — Article 36 has several positive future implications for climate resiliency. But, no — Article 36 will not move the needle immediately. As with many other initiatives, it is designed to have a gradual, incremental impact. Last year, for example, Town Meeting voters approved zoning changes to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in certain circumstances to provide more flexible housing options for Marblehead families.

On balance, are the positive implications sufficient grounds to support Article 36? In our judgment, the answer is: yes.

But whether you agree or not, we ask that you attend Town Meeting on May 6, listen to the arguments on both sides, and vote as you think best for the future of our beautiful Town.

Richard Fried, Marion Road; Laura Kurzrok, Orchard Street; Petra Langer, Prospect

2022 debt-exclusion override.

The committee also discussed potential features for a statefunded “Complete Streets” project on Beach Street, which would aim to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. Earlier in the year, a puppy was killed by a hit-andrun driver on Beach Street.

Residents have expressed support for sidewalks, preserving green space and potentially allowing for some on-street parking.

“Trade-offs will need to be made to arrive at a preferred Beach Street ‘Complete Streets’ project that will be eligible for funding in time to submit a grant application by October 2024,” read a memo from committee member Gary Hebert. “Unless other sources of funding are assumed, care must be taken to ensure that its individual elements do not exceed the maximum grant funding level of $500,000.”

The Traffic Safety Advisory Committee will seek public input as it moves forward with these proposals.

Town hasn’t

applied for grants listed in MBTA zoning law

To the editor:

The April 16, 2024 written reply from the Marblehead Select Board to my March 28, 2024 Freedom of Information Act request for information concerning what grant monies Marblehead receives from the three categories of grants specified in G.L. c. 40A, §3A accompanies this letter. I strongly suggest you publish it side by side with this correspondence.

While the public debate over the MBTA Zoning law has been ongoing since last year no town board or local journalist has procured or published the information that the FOIA response indicates took under two hours to obtain.

It turns out that it isn’t that difficult to find what isn’t there.

G.L. c. 40A, §3A specifically identified three categories of grants that may be withheld if Marblehead rejects compliance with the statute.

The answer to how much money Marblehead has received from January 1, 2014 to present under these three grant programs is — NOTHING. Marblehead doesn’t even qualify or hasn’t even applied for these grants, as the FOIA response states.

Now, I will point out that the Select Board, probably noticing that the FOIA response was a Cliff Notes version of The Emperor Has No Clothes, gratuitously added a sentence in the FOIA request that “[t]here are other discretionary state grants that the town could lose if the MBTA zoning were not to pass.” This interests me for two reasons.

First, the sentence added by Ms. Noonan and Ms. Singer and Messrs. Grader, Murray and Nye exceed the scope of the FOIA request. I only asked about the grants that the statute itself identifies to be in peril. The Select Board doesn’t add under what legal authority HealeyDriscoll would withhold funds. Second, the Select Board isn’t tasked with this issue — the Planning Board is tasked with it. Time and time again town boards point out that they can’t

answer a question when asked because they need to stay in their respective lanes — except, of course, when they decide otherwise. Maybe they could be a bit more liberal with that type of information in future meetings. In fairness to the Select Board, there probably are other funds that the town maybe, might, possibly, perhaps, hypothetically, in the future, someday, that we are going to apply for, could lose if compliance as recommended by all but one Planning Board member (Marc Lieberman) with G.L. c. 40A is defeated at Town Meeting. Healey-Driscoll has demonstrated that it is nothing if not vindictive when a town stubbornly insists on determining its own land use issues. But, in my opinion, there are some issues worth civil disobedience. And, if deciding how a town is going to develop itself in the context of this debate isn’t one of those issues, I don’t know what qualifies. At a time when our collective journalists are hounding the School Committee with overbroad and burdensome FOIA requests that is taking that committee away from its work and costing the town a lot of money, not a single journalist had the investigative sense to send the request I sent to find out what most people have been asking. I even sent a $100 check with the request to cover the cost in excess of the free two hours we get under the state FOIA law for research and response. I got my money back. And while the Planning Board has been dooming and glooming over the retribution that might, maybe, potentially, someday, hypothetically, in the future, perhaps befall Marblehead should it join Milton and Marshfield and other towns objecting to having G.L. c. 40A shoved down its throat, not a single peep was uttered by any board member, to my knowledge, about the fact that under the three categories of grants specifically identified in that statute Marblehead has never received a dime.

To its credit, the Planning Board did confirm at the last Zoom meeting (why are these meetings not in person?) that G.L. c. 40A is not an affordable housing measure. That’s an important morsel of truth for voters to take to Town Meeting. Yet we still hear things like, “just because a developer can

Court;

Mathieu, Longview Drive; Lynn Nadeau, Surf Street; Louise Bullis Yarmoff, Lookout Court

COURTESY MARBLEHEAD DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

A proposed roundabout at West Shore Drive and Lafayette Street

CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD

The town will build a sidewalk along the Salem-Marblehead line on Lafayette Street.

Nye bids Select Board farewell after 19 years

BY WILL DOWD

After serving on the Select Board for nearly two decades, Jim Nye is not seeking re-election this June.

In an interview with the Current, the National Grand Bank president reflected on his 19 years of public service and the factors that led to his decision.

“It’s time,” said Nye, 62. “I’d like to spend time with my children; they are on their way out of college, so I’d just like to spend more time with them.”

Nye’s journey on the Select Board began in 2005 when he was inspired to run after a conversation with a woman from his church who was struggling with a proposed $2.7 million general override (which ultimately passed) and the impact it would have on her ability to remain in her home.

“She had lost her husband years before and on fixed income,” he recalled. “She told me, ‘Jim, I don’t think I can afford the taxes. I might need to sell my home.’”

Nye said the woman went on to say that she didn’t want to

leave, especially since she had raised her kids in town. “That’s why I decided to run,” Nye said.

The town has not passed a general override since 2005.

In 2023, Nye was the only Select Board member to come out against a proposed $2.5 million general override. He said the town had a history of successfully meeting financial obligations without overrides and should do so again.

Nye and his Select Board colleagues faced criticism in 2023 for the town keeping millions of dollars at National Grand Bank and not securing higher interest rates elsewhere.

The state Ethics Commission had earlier determined that there was no conflict of interest in Nye’s dual role. He told the Current that controversy did not factor into his decision to retire from the Select Board.

Jackie Belf-Becker, who served alongside Nye for 18 years, described him as “totally dedicated to Marblehead,” always putting his love for the town first.

“He’s a truly unique person. He’s generous, thoughtful and

for re-election.

smart,” Belf-Becker said. “And I think the Select Board will miss him terribly.”

During his tenure, Nye has taken pride in several accomplishments, including maintaining the town’s triple A bond rating, several debtexclusion override projects and cultivating a sense of town pride. He emphasized the importance of teamwork in achieving these goals.

“It’s all been about being part of a team and getting things done,” he said. “I’ve often said that, as a Select Board member,

you are either 20% of the solution or 20% of the problem.”

Select Board member

Moses Grader praised Nye’s contributions and the impact.

“After 19 years, Jim’s departure from Select Board will be a great loss, but Jim also realizes that, with the direction of the board in good shape, that it is a good time to bow out and for others to step forward,” Grader said.

Grader also commended Nye’s character, highlighting his respect and kindness toward all people, “even under the most

trying circumstances and unfair acrimony.”

Bret Muarry said he has admired his steadfast commitment to our community.

“He gets involved and never turns away from someone in need. Jim may be stepping back from the Select Board table,” he said, “but I know he will never step back from making Marblehead a better place to live.”

Nye did express concern about the impact of social media and anonymous criticism on the town’s discourse, noting a decline in civility.

As he looks to the future, he identified potential challenges for upcoming Select Boards, including budget issues and staffing, largely due to the high cost of living in Marblehead.

“Marblehead is a difficult geographic place to get to and a very expensive town,” he explained.

The decision to step away was not an easy one, but Nye believes it is the right choice for himself and his family.

“It’s been a great ride,” he said. “It’s been a blessing.”

Board approves $20K contract for new Charter Review Committee

BY WILL DOWD

Marblehead took a major step last week toward developing its first official governing charter: the Select Board appointed 11 residents to a new Charter Review Committee and approved a $20,000 in ARPA (COVID relief) money to contract with the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Collins Center for Public Management to provide professional consulting services. The appointees will spearhead research and public engagement, and ultimately produce an initial draft charter to codify the structure, roles and operations of Marblehead’s municipal government. Since its 1649 incorporation, Marblehead has never adopted a formal charter establishing its governmental makeup and procedures. It has been guided by a patchwork of bylaws, special acts and provisions that have accumulated over the centuries.

Select Board Chair Erin

develop doesn’t mean they will develop” during these debates. This is dishonest. Developers don’t wake up in the morning and decide what opportunities to do their job they are going to pass up today — like our board members and journalists seem to do. I can hear it now. “We’re volunteers. Give us a break.”

So am I. While city hall and the media fail to data mine and publish the data essential for voters to make an informed decision at Town Meeting in under two weeks from the date of this letter –here is my contribution to the effort to inform.

To be clear, Marblehead’s rejection of G.L. c. 40A could result in legal action and some sort of potential financial loss to the town. We have seen that already with other towns. And that is a fight worth fighting for me.

I plan to vote no on Article 36 on the Town Meeting Warrant. John G. DiPiano Trager Road Fox crying wolf?

To the editor: Throughout this spring’s budget season, the School

Noonan said the lack of a ratified charter has led to ambiguities and inefficiencies that the town can no longer afford.

The Collins Center has assisted approximately 10% of Massachusetts’ 351 communities in developing or revising their charters.

The center’s director Michael Ward previously addressed the Select Board, highlighting how a charter can crystalize core governance principles.

“A well-designed charter really codifies the structures and systems a community wants its local government to operate by,” Ward said. “This process allows Marblehead to be very intentional about creating an optimized model tailored to its priorities, resources and vision.”

Ward highlighted the significance of a charter as the foundational document for a municipality, outlining its governmental structure, organization and essential functions.

“A charter is really your constitution,” Ward explained.

Committee considered two options:

A level services budget of $47,423,851 that would require additional funding through a general override or other procedural maneuvering

A reduced services budget of $45,592,667 that would not require additional funding but would require significant cuts of staffing and services for the next school year (FY25).

Marblehead Public Schools receive funding from a range of sources including Marblehead property taxes, state and federal aid, grants and fees for services like full-day kindergarten (one example of a revolving fund).

A significant portion of the school’s budget is allocated by the town from its general fund.

Ultimately, through collaboration with the Finance Committee, the SC moved forward with a compromise budget of $46,759,110 that doesn’t require a general override or the level of significant cuts in staffing and programming presented at its February’s budget hearing.

Crying wolf: Deficit or surplus?

Why didn’t the SC begin the budget process with a common understanding of the full scope of funds available to the schools and the circumstances under which those funds would be

“Think of it as the framework which lays out the key elements of your town government.”

To form the 11-member charter review committee, the Select Board considered application letters from 20 residents.

The appointed members were ranked through a scoring system in which each board member assigned points to their preferred candidates, with the following 11 residents receiving the highest cumulative scores in this order:

Amy Drinker

» Rosanna Ferrante

» Jim Zisson

» Ron Grenier

» Bill Conley

Thomas Massaro

Seamus Hourihan

Sean Casey

» Amy Danforth

» Caleb Miller

» Victor Wild

Select Board member Bret Murray said the group represents an “outstanding diversity of skills, backgrounds and community involvement” that will be vital

used? Instead, administrators were forced to plan significant staff and programming cuts and the SC dangled the idea of seeking additional funding through a general override or asking the town for more money before realizing there were sufficient funds available for FY25. Moving forward, the SC must establish guidelines for the use of balances in its revolving funds so FinCom and the public can understand when and how those funds will be used.

Why didn’t the SC know until the 11th hour that FY24 funds would be available to pre-pay certain FY25 expenses?

In past years, the assistant superintendent for finance and administration gave periodic reports on current-year spending, but those reports were stopped when Sarah Fox became chair. Why? The full SC and the public would benefit from in-real-time reporting on school spending.

What’s next?

The MPS FY25 budget of $46,759,110 will be voted at Town Meeting (Monday evening, May 6) as part of the full town’s balanced budget. No separate vote at Town Meeting or at the ballot box will be required for the current budget approved by the SC and recommended by FinCom.

The SC’s last-minute stop-gap

as the committee evaluates the current governmental model and determines areas needing reform.

In the coming weeks, the Select Board will finalize procedural details like the committee’s more-granular charge, meeting schedule and protocols and whether any non-resident members should be included as ex-officio contributors.

Once fully formed, the Charter Review Committee will embark on a thorough research phase anticipated to take six to nine months. With the Collins Center’s assistance, the committee will review governance best practices through: Comparative analysis of governmental structures in other Massachusetts communities of similar size, socioeconomics and character as Marblehead.

» Facilitated focus groups and public forums to gather input from local leaders, businesses, civic organizations and residents on Marblehead’s

solutions this year are a shortterm fix to a long-term problem. Revolving-fund balances and budget surpluses are NOT going to be available every year and should NOT be relied upon as a solution to the ongoing fiscal challenges faced by the schools and the town as a whole.

The SC must prove its competency: establish transparent budgetary planning practices, stabilize district leadership, and settle a new contract with Marblehead teachers. Without solving these issues, the community can have no confidence in this SC’s leadership.

David Harris, Waldron Street; Mark Libon, Cedar Street; Christine Nuccio, Damey’s Way

Zoning

changes would strengthen, not undermine, Marblehead’s

land-use policies

To the editor: Some Marblehead residents have expressed concerns in letters and posts about whether the proposed MBTA Communities Act zoning bylaw being proposed by our Planning Board at Town Meeting will abrogate

current strengths, weaknesses and priorities.

Surveys and other outreach to assess citizen satisfaction with existing systems in areas like public works, permitting, budgeting and elections.

After completing this discovery process, the committee will spend several months synthesizing its findings to draft proposed charter language defining the roles, responsibilities and interrelationships between Marblehead’s legislative and executive branches. The draft will also outline governmental procedures in areas like financial management, land use, economic development and decisionmaking processes.

Any draft charter produced will ultimately require majority approval at a Town Meeting. The approved draft would then need to be ratified by the state Legislature and ultimately by Marblehead voters in a municipal referendum before taking effect.

Marblehead’s right to determine its own land use.

In actuality, the proposed bylaw would strengthen, not undermine, land-use policies which the town has already adopted. First, the bylaw supports transit-oriented development consistent with our existing 40R Smart Growth bylaw which promotes development of multifamily housing within walking distance of public transportation.

Secondly, the districts proposed in Article 36 would include affordable housing units, which is consistent with the town’s Housing Production Plan. This will assist us in providing much needed less expensive housing for our teachers, nurses, town employees and residents on fixed incomes.

Article 36 does not require anyone to build in the three districts specified. It simply makes the process easier to navigate for developers who might have an interest in building this kind of housing. As a result, it is likely that if such growth does occur, it will be on a very gradual basis. Nevertheless, every incremental step we can take to encourage such development is important.

CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD

Jim Nye, who has served on the Select Board for 19 years, is not running

Kurt James Norman Street

Marblehead’s best bets coming up

Current Events spotlights exciting happenings in the coming week. If you’d like to contribute a listing, please email Current editor Leigh Blander at lblander@marbleheadnews.org. Leigh Blander

‘The Most Epic Birthday Party Ever’

Four performances May 3-5

Marblehead Little Theatre’s children’s program presents “The Most Epic Birthday Party Ever.” Skyler is about to turn 12, and she’s planned the biggest celebration of the year. But in the middle of the party, something mysterious happens — all the adults suddenly vanish! Trapped in the backyard, the kids realize they must create a brand new society. For more info and tickets, visit mltlive.com.

‘Music of the Heart’

Sunday, May 5, 3 p.m.

Enjoy a performance by Jacqueline Schwab, the principal pianist for Ken Burns’ historical documentaries. Schwab will play an hour of American standards and folk pieces, as well as traditional Ukrainian music. Donations are requested to benefit artists and museum workers in Ukraine. First come, first seated at the King Hooper Mansion, 8 Hooper St. For more info, call Judy Anderson at 781-631-1762.

The Nields at Me&Thee

Friday, May 3, 8 p.m.

Sisters Nerissa and Katryna Nields return to Me&Thee Music with their pop, folk and classic rockinspired sounds. The Nields just released their 21st album, “Circle of Days,” which explores a variety of genres from Appalachian folk ballads to gospel to pure rock. 28 Mugford St. More info and tickets at meandthee.org.

AAPI Heritage Month celebration

Saturday, May 4, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination will host the town’s first AAPI celebration at the high school field house.

Enjoy live performances, including a traditional lion dance, Guzheng concert, Khmer dance, martial arts demonstration and a poetry reading. Also, a Bon Me food truck will be there to serve Asian-inspired food. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP in advance at tinyurl.com/2uu54zur.

Green Homes Tour

Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Learn how you can upgrade your home to reduce your energy bills and carbon output by meeting with other Marblehead homeowners who have already done this. Register for Sustainable Marblehead’s second annual Green Homes Tour at sustainablemarblehead.org.

Devereux Beach Carnival

May 2-5

The Marblehead High junior class is hosting its annual Devereux Beach Carnival. Thursday, May 2, 6-10 p.m.; Friday, May 3, 6-10 p.m.; Saturday, May 4, 1-10 p.m.; and Sunday May 5, 1-6 p.m.

The carnival features rides, games and food. Cash and credit are accepted.

MHD Cruise-in

Tuesday, May 7, 6-7 p.m.

Get revved up because MHD Cruise-in is back for the season. Come to Riverside Beach and check out all kinds of cool cars. No registration required.

Sports

Lacrosse girls reflect on unforgettable day to honor the spirit of Heather Walker

BY JOE MCCONNELL

It was just not another win for the Marblehead High girls lacrosse team, when they defeated visiting Salem, 13-1 at Piper Field on April 25. For those who attended the game, they will remember it for the pregame ceremony and what the game was all about beyond the final score.

Coach Annie Madden and her players were honored to play in the Move4Heather Game, named after the foundation that Heather Walker helped setup and continues on via the efforts of her family.

Heather, the mother of two daughters, was also vice president of public relations for the Boston Celtics. She passed away last April from brain cancer.

Heather’s older daughter, Sammy, a freshman on the girls lacrosse team, took the ceremonial opening draw at the conclusion of the pregame ceremony.

Sammy’s teammates thought the entire day was a perfect example of what it means to play sports in Marblehead. They saw the community come together to honor the memory of Heather Walker, whose spirit continues to inspire everybody who ever knew her.

Senior co-captain Kate Burns offered these thoughts after the Salem game on Heather and her daughter, who rose to the occasion to help her teammates beat Salem. “Sammy showcased her strength on the field by scoring a hat trick during the game. Her performance was not only a testament to her skills, but also a reflection of her mother’s enduring influence,” Burns said.

“The dedication game served as more than just a sporting event; it was a platform to raise awareness for glioblastoma, the disease that took Heather from us way too soon,” she added. “Through fundraising efforts, we not only honored Heather’s memory, but also contributed to a cause close to her heart.”

Burns went on to say, “before the game, Sammy delivered a moving speech, capturing the

essence of her mother’s spirit and the significance of the occasion. Her words resonated deeply with everyone there, reminding us all of the power of unity and purpose.

“As lacrosse players, we understand that our sport is about more than just

victories on the field; it’s about moments like these playing for something greater than ourselves. (This) game was a tribute to Heather Walker, but it was also a reaffirmation of our commitment to play for more. We will continue to honor Heather’s memory (in)

each game we play (this spring), knowing that she is cheering us on from above.”

Co-captain Caroline Scroope provided these observations on this special day. “We played for something greater than ourselves,” she said. “We demonstrated how talented

we are as a team, but more importantly (this game) showed how the lacrosse community, and the Marblehead community (at-large), comes together to support each other. Heather’s positivity, strength and resilience was shining through each and every one of us during this game, and we know that she will (still) be cheering us on throughout the rest of our season.”

Senior Colette Rodrigues, Sammy’s teammate, had these remarks on the entire experience. “It is so special when people can come together in such a beautiful way to honor such a beautiful soul such as Heather,” Rodrigues said. “Thursday’s game was an example of strength, love and togetherness. We were so honored to play for Heather Walker and to honor her life.” The team hopes that the Marblehead community continues to support the Move4Heather initiative, which emphasizes going for a walk, doing something on your bucket list and finally giving to the Jimmy Fund (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) for brain cancer research.

BY JOE MCCONNELL

After starting the season 1-4, the Marblehead High girls lacrosse team has since rattled off three straight wins to even its record at four that began with topping Masco in a high scoring encounter, 13-12.

The Magicians went on to dominate host Gloucester on April 23, 14-5. They also held a commanding 10-1 advantage at halftime. Maddie Forbes (1 goal, 1 caused turnover, 1 draw control), Ramona Gillett (3 goals, 1 assist, 1 caused turnover, 1 ground ball, 2 draw controls), Kathryn Commoss (1 goal 2 assists), Gretchen Smith (1

goal), Chloe Rowland (1 goal, 1 assist), Caroline Scroope (1 goal), Cassidy Lubeck (2 assists), Sydney Shull (2 goals), Caitlyn Ryan (1 goal, 1 ground ball), Whitney Jellison (2 goals 1 draw control), Sofia Grubor (1 goal), Sammy Walker (1 ground ball, 2 draw control), Jack Whalen (1 interception, 1 ground ball) and Maddy Bontaites (1 assist, 1 ground ball) contributed mightily to this victory over the Fishermen. Goalie Molly Bullard did her part making five saves. Two days later, the

girls defeated visiting

13-1 in the

named after the foundation that

Marblehead

Salem,

Move4Heather Game,

COURTESY PHOTO / COLETTE RODRIGUES Marblehead High junior girls lacrosse player Ramona Gillett surveys the field looking to make a play during a recent game.

COURTESY PHOTOS / COLETTE RODRIGUES

Marblehead High girls lacrosse co-captain Kate Burns speaks before the start of the April 25 game against Salem at Piper Field to promote the Move4Heather Foundation, named after the mother of freshman teammate Sammy Walker. Sammy’s mom passed away last year from brain cancer.

Marblehead High girls lacrosse players Sammy Walker and Kathryn Commoss are alongside coach Annie Madden, right, while watching the pregame ceremonies on April 25 at Piper Field for Sammy’s mom, Heather, who passed away last year from brain cancer. The Move4Heather Game against Salem was aptly named after the foundation that Heather helped setup and continues on via her family’s efforts to assist others going through the same ordeal.

Magicians extend winning streak to four

BY JOE MCCONNELL

Winners of four straight games, the Marblehead High baseball team (5-3) is definitely moving in the right direction.

On April 22, the Magicians defeated Bishop Fenwick, 7-4. At the end of the game, coach Mike Giardi was happy about the win, but also wanted to see his players clean up a few things.

“It was a very sloppy game by both teams,” Giardi said. “Both teams combined for 13 walks and six errors.”

The Marblehead boys scored five runs in the second to take the lead for good. The host Crusaders got one back in the home half of that inning, and they continued to fight back valiantly to trim the deficit to one, before the Magicians were able to notch a couple of late insurance runs to seal the deal.

Matt Mahan pitched the first three innings for Marblehead to secure the win. Mahan gave up four hits, one walk and four runs, none earned. He fanned two. Junior Carter Sahagian went the final three innings to pickup the save. He issued two hits and one walk, while whiffing three.

MHS

The Marblehead offense scratched out six singles. Riley Schmitt, Stef Shepard (1 walk), Charlie Sachs (2 walks), Bodie Bartram (3 walks), Brooks Keefe (1 walk) and Greyson Leventhal accounted for those hits.

Leventhal and Bartram each knocked in two runs to lead the way. Chris Cannuscio and Graham Tips walked twice.

The Marblehead boys then smoked host Danvers the very next day, 16-1.

“This game was simply a case of everything just about going right for us, and everything just about going wrong for Danvers,” said Giardi.

Marblehead scored four runs right away in the first, aided by a couple of Danvers miscues.

In the bottom of the first, Marblehead starting pitcher Chris Cannuscio gave up a leadoff single, and after a stolen base he picked the Falcon runner off second to account for the first out of the game. He then gave up a triple to Mike Moroney, who was left stranded on the bag. Altogether, Cannuscio pitched four innings, yielding four hits, but struck out three.

The Falcons were still in the

game in the third. They had runners on first and second with no outs, but Cannuscio got out of that jam by starting a triple play after snaring a liner back to him. His teammates then tacked on 11 runs in the fourth to break open a close game that was called after five innings, because of the mercy rule. Nick Berry pitched the fifth for Marblehead, allowing two hits and one earned run. He fanned one.

The Marblehead offense collected eight hits, led by Sachs and Keefe with one double apiece. They also each knocked in three runs. Keefe was credited with a single, as well. Jake Scogland singled in three runs. Bartram had a hit and four RBI.

The Magicians went up against Danvers again on April 26 after press deadline. They then traveled to Saugus to face the Sachems April 30, before going up against host Gloucester May 3, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

boys & girls tennis updates

BY JOE MCCONNELL

The Marblehead High boys tennis team (3-0 in the NEC, 3-2 overall) lost a close match to HamiltonWenham, 3-2 on April 23, before shutting out Salem two days later, 5-0.

Senior captain Mika Garber lost to Elois Chanel by default in first singles, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4).

“Mika cruised through the first set without losing a game. Unfortunately, he hurt his foot and ended up losing the second set in a tiebreaker, before retiring without playing the third set, because of the injury,” said coach Elisabeth Foukal. “It was a great effort by him trying to persevere through his injury.”

Marblehead junior captain Etan Farfel beat senior Keenan Maguire in second singles, 6-2, 6-0. Sophomore T.J. Kelly lost to Rory Taylor in third

Wednesday, May 1

4 p.m., boys lacrosse, vs. Danvers, at MHS Piper Field

4 p.m., softball, vs. Peabody, at Marblehead Veterans Middle School

4 p.m., girls tennis, vs. Gloucester, at Marblehead High

4 p.m., boys tennis, vs. Gloucester, at Gloucester High

4:30 p.m., boys and girls track, vs. Swampscott, Masconomet, at Peabody Veterans Memorial High

Thursday, May 2

4 p.m., girls lacrosse, vs.

Lacrosse

From P. A9

singles, 6-1, 6-1 in a match that was closer than the final score would indicate, according to Foukal.

Junior captain Jayden Janock and his classmate Austin Bacon lost a heartbreaker to Max Clarke and Henry Stinson in first doubles, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6. “Jayden and Austin had all the momentum in the third set, leading 5-3. This was a first-rate doubles match by all four players,” said Foukal.

Junior Anthony Vizy and freshman Ty Cooper came through with a win in three sets against H-W’s Jadon Wang and Alex Boardman in second doubles, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In sub-varsity play, Quinn Fletcher and Ben Zaltsman won, 6-1. Alex Boehning and Filip Wabno did the same, 6-3. In JV play, Quinn Sullivan and Graydon Waller maintained the winning trend, 8-0. Cordt

Danvers, at Danvers High

4 p.m., girls tennis, vs. Latin Academy, at Carter Playground, Boston

Friday, May 3

4 p.m., girls tennis, vs. Beverly, at Marblehead High

4 p.m., boys tennis, vs. Beverly, at Beverly High

4 p.m., unified track, vs. Swampscott, at Swampscott High 4:30 p.m., baseball, vs. Gloucester, at O’Maley Middle School, Gloucester

4:30 p.m., softball, vs. Saugus, at Marblehead Veterans Middle School

Heather Walker’s family setup in honor of her. The mother of two daughters passed away last April from brain cancer.

“In July 2021, Heather Walker, Senior VP of Public Relations for the Boston Celtics and a fun-loving, free-spirted wife and mom of two young daughters, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer: glioblastoma. In the face of this challenge, Heather immediately thought of how she could help others, and so she started

Menzler and Nico Altonian followed a similar script, 8-3, as did John Bender and Andrew Halvorson, 12-10.

Griffin Waller and Connor Dunleavy lost their doubles match, 8-2. Leo Rapone and Blake Harper experienced similar results, 8-2.

Dimitry Kukushkin and Will Pelliciotti fell, 10-8.

Max Teter and Luke Guevara dropped an 8-1 decision. Gerry Betz and Jack Twomey were on the short end of an 8-3 score.

Chakib Khelladi and Michael LaBossiere lost, 8-2. Chafik Khelladi and Quinn Sullivan suffered an 8-3 loss.

The Marblehead boys bounced back the next day to beat Salem, 5-0.

Junior Leo Winocour defeated Rylen Workman in first singles, 6-4, 6-0.

Junior Austin Bacon topped Finn Hangar in second singles, 6-0, 6-0.

7 p.m., boys lacrosse, vs. Bedford, New Hampshire

Saturday, May 4

9 a.m., girls and boys track, NEC Freshman/Sophomore Meet, at Danvers High

11:30 a.m., girls lacrosse, vs. Reading, at MHS Piper Field

Monday, May 6

4 p.m., girls lacrosse, vs. Woburn, at Woburn High

4 p.m., boys lacrosse, vs. Gloucester, at MHS Piper Field

4 p.m., softball, vs. Wakefield, at Marblehead Veterans Middle School

the Heather Walker Fund for Glioblastoma Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, managed by her neurooncologist, Dr. David Reardon. Heather sadly lost her battle with glioblastoma on April 26, 2023,” said girls lacrosse coach Annie Madden.

“We played this game against Salem in honor of Heather and the Walker family, including her daughter Sammy, who plays on the team this year,” Madden added. “Sammy had an outstanding game for us against Salem, which truly would have made her mother proud.”

Junior Quinn Fletcher also won in straight sets versus Eden McLain in third singles, 6-1, 6-2.

The first doubles team of Zaltsman and Cooper breezed to victory past Brooks Workman and Mark Qualkenbush, 6-0, 6-1. Boehning and Wabno shutdown Will Towne and Ray Nyugen in second doubles, 6-0, 6-0.

Girls tennis resumes schedule after two-week layoff

Between spring school vacation week and postponements, the Marblehead High girls tennis team (1-3) didn’t play a competitive match since April 10 until they took on host Masco just over two weeks later on April 26. However, they ended up losing to the Chieftains by the narrowest of margins, 3-2.

First singles Masco superstar Teagan Skully

4 p.m., girls tennis, vs. Danvers, at Danvers High

4:30 p.m., baseball, vs. Gloucester, at Seaside Park

Tuesday, May 7

4 p.m., boys tennis, vs. St. John’s Prep, at St. John’s Prep, Danvers

4:30 p.m., softball, vs. Salem, at Marblehead Veterans Middle School

Wednesday, May 8

4 p.m., baseball, vs. Masconomet, at Seaside Park

4 p.m., boys and girls track, vs. Beverly, at Beverly High

Team captains Kate Burns and Caroline Scroope provided a joint statement for the fans who showed up for the game. They said, “Thank you all for being here. From this Move4Heather game, we hope to carry on Heather’s legacy and bring awareness to brain cancer research by moving for Heather. Go for a walk, do something on your bucket list and give to Dana-Farber (Jimmy Fund) in honor of Heather.”

Heather’s daughter Sammy then spoke for her family: “Hi everyone. I want to say thanks for your support today, and

defeated her Marblehead counterpart Maddie Conlon, 6-0, 6-0.

Skully’s teammate Taylor Mastrogiovann then topped Aviva Bornstein in second singles, 6-1, 6-3.

Sami Dosch recorded the first Marblehead point in third singles, when she beat Maya Klink in a competitive three set match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to remain undefeated on the season at 4-0.

The first doubles team of Aoife Bresnahan and Lucia Levin secured the team’s second point after defeating Sienna Anvarni and Sophia Donnellan in another three-set battle, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

The second doubles team of Lani Gilmore and Nina Johnson lost to Masco’s Izzy Kelly and Paige Hurton, 3-6, 1-6.

“I was really pleased with the two points we won,” said coach Tracy Ackerman. “Sami (Dosch)

FUND THE FIELD

and our first doubles team dug deep and were scrappy by running every ball down and keeping their opponents off balance. It was great to see them hustle with so much intensity.

“Masco is obviously a super talented team, so the fact that we grabbed two points from them says a lot about our ability to keep on improving,” added Ackerman. “We now have a packed week with six matches in a row, so we will need to stay focused and maintain our high level of play.”

The Magicians took on Winthrop and Saugus on April 29 and 30 after press deadline, before hosting Gloucester May 1, starting at 4 p.m. They will then take on non-league host Latin Academy May 2, followed by Beverly May 3 at home. Both matches will also begin at 4 p.m.

doing this game for my mom. It really means a lot to me and my family. It’s events like this that will keep her legacy and awareness for brain cancer going. You will never meet anyone ever like her, and I was the luckiest person to be her daughter. She always wanted me to do what made me happy, and she would be so proud to see how far I’ve come today. So, I thank you all very much for letting this game happen,” she said. Sammy was one of the leading offensive contributors against the Witches after accounting for three goals

and one assist. Rachel Delisle (1 assist), Cassidy Lubeck (3 goals), Gretchen Smith (1 goal), Caitlin Ryan (1 goal), Forbes (1 goal, 1 assist), Gillett (1 goal, 1 assist) and Commoss (3 goals, 4 assists) also figured prominently on offense during this memorable triumph. After the win over Salem, the Magicians went up against Beverly on April 29 after press deadline, before heading to Danvers to take on the Falcons tomorrow (May 2), starting at 4 p.m. They will then return home to face non-league Reading Saturday morning (May 4) at 11:30 a.m.

CURRENT FILE PHOTO / KEN MCGAGH

Marblehead High starting pitcher Chris Cannuscio started a triple play against Danvers on April 23 during his four-inning stint on the mound that helped secure a dominating 16-1 victory for his teammates.

MHS Va RSIT y SCHEDULE

Marblehead Pickleball hosted a two-day tournament last weekend that raised about $13,000 for the Fund the Field drive. The money will go toward a new turf field and lights at the high school. Ninety people played each day at the Village School courts in Marblehead’s first-ever pickleball tourney.

program

LE a RNING & GROWING Village School garden gets creative gift

from Artists in Action

BY LEIGH BLANDER

The SPUR garden at the Village School has some creative new signage, thanks to students in the Raw Art Works program in Lynn. The high schoolers are part of an Artists in Action group that focuses on civic-minded art projects.

The students, from different high schools in Lynn, designed and painted 28 signs designating different fruits, vegetables and herbs all being grown at the Village School garden.

SPUR started partnering with the Village Parent Teacher Organization about a year ago to develop the garden at the school. With nine raised beds, students and volunteers harvested 600 pounds of produce last year and expect to harvest 1,000 pounds this year.

About 80% of the food is donated to the Marblehead Food Pantry and families living with food insecurity. The produce includes carrots, peas, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelon. (Teachers

can use the remaining 20% for “enrichment and educational purposes,” according to SPUR.)

“What’s amazing about this project is that it supports students and the community,” said SPUR’s Kim Nothnagel.

Luisa Boverini, SPUR’s enrichment director, is leading the garden project. She has researched curriculum standards at the Department of Early and Secondary Education and created service learning programs that tie into classroom lessons at Village.

So far, about 400 students have worked in the garden.

Fifth-grader Bridget Burke, who came to see the new garden signs, said she looks forward to time she gets to spend in the space during school.

“The garden adds a pop of color to the day,” she said.

SPUR runs three other gardens in town at St. Andrew’s Church on Lafayette Street, Temple Sinai on Community Road and Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott.

Open at 11:30 Wed.-Sunday Wed. 4-6pm Half-Of fA ppetizer s (dine in only)

Homemade Authentic Greek Cuisine 261 Washington St, Marblehead 781-499-5006 Online ordering eliamarblehead@gmail.com or through DoorDash and UberEats

BY LEIGH BLANDER

On a recent sunny afternoon, Hobbs Playground was buzzing with children running, swinging and zipping down slides. Many stopped to check out a new addition — a colorful communication board installed by local business The Power of Speech and the Marblehead Family Fund.

“These playground communication boards provide children an immediate way to express their thoughts when they aren’t able to do so with spoken words,” said Jessica Brown, a speech pathologist who provides therapy through her practice at The Power of Speech and initiated the project.

“They are a valuable tool for children who are still learning to talk and for children who use alternative methods of communicating,” such as an iPad, she added.

Partnering with the Marblehead Family Fund and the Recreation and Parks Department, Brown placed communication boards at five playgrounds: Hobbs, Gatchell’s, Stramski’s, Gerry and Seaside. Another is coming to Devereux Beach this month.

The aluminum boards, 5 feet long by 3 feet tall, feature illustrations of kids doing a variety of activities — sliding, swinging, eating and more. Kids can point to the image that matches what they need or want.

Meghan Tosto with the Marblehead Family Fund

brought her two sons, Graham, 2, and Zachery, 4, to Hobbs and watched as they explored the new communication board.

“I’ve seen a lot of kids pointing at it, and their parents explaining it,” Tosto said. “It’s been wonderful to see.”

Brown said the boards will help kids and their parents recognize that not everyone communicates the same way.

“Communication boards on our playgrounds in Marblehead provide representation for nonspeaking and minimally speaking kids to see their method of communicating proudly displayed, as well as provide an opportunity for families to talk with their children about neurodiversity — a term that validates all the different ways of communicating,” Brown said.

According to Harvard Medical School, neurodiversity “describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.”

About 15-20% of Americans are neurodivergent, according to different studies.

Brown said she is working to get communication boards installed at all public and private elementary schools in town.

Help Wanted

Full Time Infant/Toddler &Preschool Teachers

MCC’sphilosophyisthatchildrenlearn best through play.Seeking enthusiastic,dedicated professionalswho will engage in andupholdour mission

Acollaborative &suppor tive environmentwith theoppor tunitytodevelop teaching skillsthrough education&training

Please contact gail@marbleheadchildrenscenter.com 781-631-1954

Forinfoabout salary +benefits (includingfreechildcare forfull time employees).

YELLOW MAGENTA

Students in the Artists in Action

at Raw Arts painted signs for the SPUR garden at the Village School.

CURRENT PHOTOS / LEIGH BLANDER

Three-year-old Quinn Brown points at her favorite image — children swinging — on the communication board.

A group of children check out the new communication board at Hobbs Playground.

Danielle Welhunt helps small businesses with marketing

BY MELISSA STACEY

The following is an interview with Danielle Wehunt, owner of Danielle Does Marketing, conducted by Discover Marblehead. Learn more about her marketing agency and the services she provides to small businesses at danielledoesmarketing.com.

Tell us about Danielle Does Marketing and why you started it. I am a one-woman creative marketing agency that helps small, local businesses become recognizable, trusted and successful names in the community and beyond. After being a commercial photographer, working in the advertising realm for over 16 years, and being a marketing coordinator for an AI startup, I’ve been on both sides and understand very well what pain points small business owners face. When I was laid off from my tech sector marking role in October 2023, I decided I would no longer let my fate be decided by others and took the leap to go out on my own in marketing. As a third-generation entrepreneur, I’ve observed firsthand the challenges of establishing brand awareness and effectively marketing a business. I also understand that running a business often requires being a jack of all trades, which usually leads to being a master of none.

I want to provide businesses with targeted help in the areas where they need it most so they can concentrate on running their business. I firmly believe in the power of organic outreach and keeping things simple. You don’t need an elaborate, overly complicated plan. Organization, research and a willingness to try something new can yield excellent results. Consistency is key.

What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received? I have two that have stuck with me: “Start slow, start small.” Burnout is real and dying stars shine the brightest before disappearing. Going 100 mph all day won’t advance you any faster, but being methodical, thoughtful and calculating will.

The other piece of advice I learned early in my photography career is, “Not everyone wanting your services is a good fit” for your business. Just like potential customers weigh the pros and cons of working with a company,

businesses must also assess if a client is a good fit for them. Some clients may want to work with you because your price is right but expect results you can’t deliver. It’s a two-way street; you’ll save yourself a lot of stress by trusting your instincts. You can’t be everything to everyone.

What is your favorite spot in Marblehead, and why? Do I have to pick? When looking for a place to live here nine years ago, I stumbled upon the Red Steps and thought, “Man, I would love to live close to these. How cool is this spot?” A week later, I found my apartment just one street over and felt it was fate. It makes the best “thinking spot.” I don’t do it enough, but I like sitting there with my earpods and listening to music to destress. The Red Steps offer such a nice view of the harbor and Devereux Beach.

What is something people would be surprised to learn about you? I’m an open book, for the most part, but for those who don’t know me personally, I was a musician and singer in another life. Although no longer religious, I sang on the praise and worship team at church from my teens to my mid-20s and played drums and piano in a few bands. I have several original recordings floating around the internet from years ago.

My college plans were to go to school for music in Australia, but my dad was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer shortly before I was supposed to go, so I changed plans out of fear that I would face challenges coming home if anything happened to him. I made the right choice because he passed away just two years after his diagnosis. Thankfully, I was able to spend invaluable and precious time with him. During that time, I fell in love with photography while attempting to document the last years of

his life. It led to a lifelong career in visual storytelling that I still never tire of. Ironically, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer last February at the age of 40, playing music became medicine and soothed my anxiety in a way nothing else could. Having made a full recovery, I am eternally thankful for the powerful way music has and continues to impact my life.

The business spotlight is a weekly feature published in partnership with Discover Marblehead. To learn more, visit discovermhd.com.

BY LEIGH BLANDER

Essex County District

Attorney Paul Tucker announced six arrests in a series of smash and grab robberies, including

Boston Foundation put the problem in perspective: “In the postwar decades … it was common for municipalities to use zoning explicitly to increase or protect their socio-economic ranking by zoning for low-density housing and tightly restricting or banning apartment development.”

The state took action in 1969, enacting Chapter 40B, which imposed a streamlined permitting process on municipalities with less than 10 percent of

one at the Richdale Convenience Store on Smith Street in Marblehead last month. In a press release, Tucker’s office says the suspects, alleged members of the Trinitarios

affordable housing stock — Marblehead included.

This was followed by Chapter 40R in 2004. The Smart Growth Zoning and Housing Production Act offers financial incentives to municipalities to develop by-right residential zoning districts with minimum density and affordability requirements. Marblehead adopted two smart growth districts in 2010. While 40B and 40R generated some successes, exclusionary zoning continues to stymie the building growth needed to meet demand. The state is 200,000 units short of housing, a fact that has

gang, were arrested April 24 and indicted in 12 break-ins across Essex and Middlesex Counties and southern New Hampshire that netted 50,000 in stolen lottery tickets from February

led to skyrocketing home prices and rents. Employers are having a tough time luring talent. But more pressingly, seniors can’t sell their properties because they can’t find smaller, affordable options. Young families don’t have down payments for what were once considered modest starter homes. Teachers and first responders have few opportunities to live in the communities they serve.

Marblehead’s own Housing Production Plan offers a particularly stark picture: “The demographic changes occurring in Marblehead compel the expansion and diversification of its housing stock. Most concerning is the increase in aging households and decrease in younger households.” A full third of our community is considered low-income, and of that, two-thirds are spending more than 30

through April. The investigation was called “Operation Smash and Cash.”

The suspects are from Lynn, Revere and Methuen.

In Marblehead, police

percent on housing.

That’s why the state is willing to enforce penalties for noncompliance with Section 3A of Chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws. The attorney general has already filed suit against Milton, which rejected its designation as a rapid transit community and the resulting plan.

The Supreme Judicial Court will hear the case in October. The governor has pulled grant funding promised to the town for its seawalls.

“The MBTA Communities Law was enacted to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory,” warned AG Andrea Campbell.

In another interview, she offered more blunt legal analysis: “The state trumps.”

Practically speaking, Marblehead can neither afford costly litigation nor

responded to Richdale’s at 3:45 a.m. on March 13 for an alarm call and noticed the front window had been smashed. A large container of scratch tickets had been taken.

the loss of valuable state funding. A quick glance at the 2022 Town Report lists several state grants received — from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Coastal Zone Management, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, Mass Historic Commission, the Seaport Economic Council, and Complete Streets.

The 2023 version we’ll receive at Town Meeting will be no different, and Marblehead is currently being considered for major state infrastructure grants totaling $14 million.

There will be more funding opportunities in the future, especially as we seek assistance with vital coastal sustainability efforts, including $6.5 million in existing harbor infrastructure repairs.

Rather than add to the town’s fiscal woes, let’s turn our attention to responsibly implementing the plan when development

opportunities arise — and they may not right away. Building is by right, but the details are subject to the town’s site plan review standards, use restrictions, and state and local regulations.

People have understandably expressed concerns about infrastructure capacity and traffic. Assessing those needs early can help in discussions with developers and with grant applications for state programs like HousingWorks, which supports infrastructure projects tied to housing production.

Marbleheaders may not love mandates, but we have never not answered the call when the greater good was at stake. Now is one of those times.

State Rep. Jennifer Armini represents the 8th Essex District, composed of Marblehead, Swampscott and a portion of Lynn.

COURTESY PHOTO / DISCOVER MARBLEHEAD

Danielle Wehunt, owner of Danielle Does Marketing, brings her expertise in photography and marketing to help local businesses stand out.

Running is the perfect metaphor for mental health

BY LISA SUGARMAN

Back in the winter of 2018, in the early years of writing my original column It Is What It Is, when I was running lots of marathons and up to my eyeballs raising my daughters, I wrote a piece titled, “Here’s why running is the perfect metaphor for parenting.” And you know what, it really was. At the time, I drew so many beautiful parallels between raising kids and running. You know, like how we give our kids all the skills and tools to run their own “race of life,” but how, in the end, we can’t run it for them. How we can only get them to the start line and the rest is up to them. Stuff like that. These days, though, as we all try to navigate a world where it feels like everyone is struggling with something, I’m thinking about that old column in a very new way…

Six years later, in today’s world, where, according to the National Institutes of Health, 57.8 million adults live with some form of mental illness, that column has

longer and cost a couple of grand just to get that started.”

However, the process has raised concerns about those who did not file abatement applications before the February deadline, whether due to lack of awareness or understanding of the process.

“How would they know how to do that on their own?” questioned Wheeler. “People do not know how to do that.” Kelley pointed out that the abatement application instructions were printed on tax bills and the newspaper. He said

learned the cost can run between $20,000 and $30,000.

Scientists with the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire, came to Marblehead on Friday.

“We were also joined by a colleague at NOAA Fisheries, as well as a colleague from Tufts University,” said Ashley Stokes of the SSC. “We were able to conduct a full external examination, photo documentation, morphometrics (measurements), swab samples and skin samples.”

She continued, “The swab samples will be sent to the lab at Tufts to look for disease. The skin samples are used for genetics testing, to help determine family lineage of the whale. The external exam didn’t reveal any definitive cause of death, which we expected.”

Stokes said the scientists did see evidence that the humpback had been entangled in the past.

popped back into my mind. A lot. But not from the perspective of a mom raising kids. This time, given the global rise of things like mental unwellness, suicide and depression, I’ve been thinking about it in different terms. And I’ve been compelled to re-write what I wrote so many years ago from a new point of view. Because the more time I spend as a mental health advocate and a crisis counselor, watching so many people grappling with their mental health, the more I notice that there are also some big-league similarities between the sport of running and mental health. Comparisons that I think might be helpful in terms of better understanding why some days are good days, and some just aren’t. Because sometimes, we just need to look at things from a different perspective to help us gain clarity.

So, here’s how I see the overlap between running and mental health…

Much like how we build up our physical endurance when we train to run, we also condition our mental health as we age and mature. Over time, we learn what we need as humans to function at our best and we try to do those things. Not to oversimplify, but that’s the

only those whose abatement we were submitted will receive an adjustment now.

Moran believes that given the special circumstances and the problems with the assessment process, everyone should be given a second chance to file for an abatement

“I think because this is a special circumstance that hasn’t been properly done, the whole thing should be reviewed,” he said. “Everybody should have another bite at this and say, ‘Hey, I’m not paying this.’”

Audit findings

At last week’s Select Board meeting, members OK’d $15,000

essence of how we develop. We learn that we need to get copious amounts of sleep to support our brain function, so we try to sleep more. We discover which foods work best for our bodies, so we do our best to eat those foods. We learn (hopefully) how to create and maintain boundaries, so we attempt to preserve them to ensure healthy relationships. We figure out how to course correct and keep moving forward after we have setbacks or disappointments.

And let’s not forget that with both running and our mental health, even though we can find support within the community around us, we still have to do the actual work ourselves. Like how it’s motivating to run with a run club or a friend, they can’t log the miles for us. We still have to run our own run. And mental health works the same way. We can find strength in support groups or through therapy, but we’ve got to do that internal work on our own.

In the same way that running is a continuous process that requires a consistent investment of our time and energy to develop strength and stamina, our mental health demands a similar commitment to selfcare and consistency if we’re

going to keep strengthening it throughout our lives. But here’s the caveat… sometimes, even despite our best efforts to prepare for every run or race by doing all the right things, we can still have amazingly bad runs. And our mental health works the same way. We can check off every one of our daily wellness practices like journaling and fitnessing and meditating and resting and we can create and maintain healthy boundaries to keep our relationships positive and we can practice all the right kinds of self-care and still wind up in a chaotic headspace. That’s because mental health, like running and like life in general, can be unpredictable. Even when we’re sure we’ve checked all the boxes to ensure that things go smoothly, we can still have shockingly bad moments that fall completely beyond our control.

Which brings me to the resiliency piece.

Some days, like some runs, are just crap. There are days when we’ll be hijacked by our feels or crushed by a grief attack, or we’ll feel insecure or unmotivated for no identifiable reason. And those are the days when we have to slow our mental pace and give ourselves a little extra grace when we’re having a bad day.

for Patriot Properties’ work reviewing and emailing decisions on 334 property tax abatement applications. The $541,000 in abatements will be funded by

“We did find multiple linear impressions/scars on the whale’s body, with the likely cause of those impressions being previous entanglement,” she said. “However, these impressions were not fresh wounds, and there was no gear present on the animal. So,

although it may suggest that she had an entanglement at some point in her life, it was not the cause of death.”

The whale drew crowds of curious people to the beach. On Friday, Souza urged them to keep their distance.

“You want to stand clear,” he

CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

a reserve fund, according to Finance Director Aleesha Nunley Benjamin. An additional $5,000 appropriation was approved

Just like when the wheels fall off during a run and we need to adjust by slowing down or taking a walk break or just stopping altogether. Because sometimes the day or the run is just hard. But that doesn’t mean we stop running entirely, we just adjust in that moment and adapt to the circumstances. Then we have another go at it another day. Just like when we’re having a bad mental health moment.

See, running and mental health are practically twins.

Lisa Sugarman is an author, a nationally syndicated columnist, a three-time survivor of suicide loss, a mental health advocate and a crisis counselor with The Trevor Project. She’s also a storyteller with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the host of The Suicide Survivor Series on YouTube. Lisa is also a Survivor of Suicide Loss Grief Group facilitator for Samaritans and she’s the author of “How To Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It,” “Untying Parent Anxiety” and “LIFE: It Is What It Is.” Her work has appeared on Healthline Parenthood, GrownAndFlown, TODAY Parents, Thrive Global, The Washington Post, LittleThings and More Content Now. Lisa lives and writes just north of Boston. Visit her online at lisasugarman.com.

for consultant Jim Doherty, the current assessor in Burlington who also owns a consulting business, to carry out the independent audit.

“It’s going to get into the exact specifics of what went wrong,” said Kelley, noting that land valuations appear to be a significant factor. “Looking at the abatements showed us there were some real problems with land.” Wheeler, for one, is grateful that her reduced bill will allow her to pay down the student loans that she took out to pay for her son’s college tuition.

“I’m happy to pay my share,” she said. “I just don’t want to be paying more than I need to.”

said. “It’s a decaying animal, which can create some bacteria issues. Respect the animal.”

Souza said there is a lot of whale activity right now, especially in Stellwagen Bank.

“For one to wash up ashore here, it’s a little rare, but it isn’t rare that they’re around,” he said.

This was Plauche’s first time towing a whale.

“They’re majestic creatures,” he said. “We’ve been watching whales here in New England all our lives. It’s pretty unfortunate when something like this happens.”

Longtime resident Beth Wheeler’s home on Cloutman’s Lane, where a property tax abatement has reduced her tax bill.

CURRENT PHOTO JARED CHARNEY

Teenagers climb down rocks near Preston Beach to see the deceased humpback whale that washed ashore on April 25.

COURTESY PHOTO / SEACOAST SCIENCE CENTER The humpback whale measured 41 feet and weighed 65,000 pounds.

Shining a light on the news you care about!

Headlight

Written by the students of Marblehead High School for our school and community 2023 - 2024 Issue

www.mhsheadlight.com

Thank you MHS PCO!

MHS Faculty

Dear PCO,

We want to thank you for supporting our sophomore English classes in our trip to the “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away” exhibition in Boston. We coordinated this trip to the exhibition in conjunction with reading Maus, which is a twofold memoir: the main memoir is of Vladek Spiegelman living before, during, and after the Holocaust as a Jewish person in Poland. The secondary memoir focuses on the lives of Vladek, his second wife Mala, and his son Art during the 1970s, when Art conducted a series of thorough interviews over several years to record Vladek’s story. He then tells Vladek’s story the way only Art could tell it: as a graphic novel. Pieces in the Boston exhi-

person how much research and work went into crafting Maus. We will further discuss the context as well as the art of the storytelling in the book using our experience from the trip.

The trip itself was highly praised by all of our students and our chaperones. The students used all the time we had and some could have used much more. This shows how much our students want to learn and want to understand more about their world. It is truly a great pleasure to teach here.

As we said in our permission slip letter to our students’ parents: words cannot express how much we appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity of our parents! Thank you, all!

Sincerely, Ms. Feins, Ms. Roberge, Ms.

Georgia Marshall, Freshman

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘keeping up with the Joneses’? If you’re a high school student reading this, you probably haven’t. Firstly, who are the Joneses? When I imagine them, I see a suburban family - two or three kids, a smiling mom and dad, a fluffy dog - standing in front of a big, boxy house with a pristine front lawn, a back deck with a grill, and a sprawling backyard with a trampoline. You know that family. There are a lot of them. However, not everyone lives like this. There are people who live in smaller houses with varying familial configurations. People who don’t have room for things like big swing sets and slides and trampolines, or simply can’t afford them. And while The Joneses can afford the luxury of sending their kids to a host of interesting and stimulating summer camps when school lets out, plenty of other families aren’t able to do this because of the expenses that come with it. These families aren’t able to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’

As Brian Snell, a member of the Marblehead Rotary Club who illuminated this analogy for me explained at a weekly meeting this past Thursday,

that is where the Rotary comes in. Throughout every year, the Marblehead Rotary Club hosts fundraising events and receives generous donations in order to reward students with scholarships of all kinds. The most recent Rotary event of this kind was Marblehead’s Got Talent, in which three Marblehead students were awarded performing arts scholarships that ranged from $2500$6000. One of the most important programs run by the Rotary is the Campership program.

Almost since it first began one hundred years ago, the Rotary has been offering scholarships to camps around town and beyond for students from pre-k to high school. “(The Camperships) are important to families who don’t have the money to pay for camps for their kids, meaning they don’t have anywhere to go while their parents are working. Kids get ex posure to new opportunities and they get to socialize at camps,” says Marsha Christenson, a longtime member of the Campership committee and the Rotary. It is un fair to think that certain children might have to miss out on sum mer camp simply because the fee is too expensive. By applying for a Rotary Club Campership, one is

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Ila Bumagin and Mona Gelfgatt

eligible to receive up to $600 for a summer camp of their choice. Popular camps through Camperships include Camp Rotary, many of the YMCA camps, camps at the JCC, and camps through the Parks and Recreation summer program. Some of these organizations offer similar camp scholarships in partnership with the Rotary. The Camperships are especially important if a student wants to pursue a passion outside of school during the summer. Art, science, dance, and sports camps are all made possible with the help of a Rotary Campership.

There is a common misconception that the Camperships are only for elementary and middle school students. “High schoolers sometimes think that the scholarships aren’t for them, or they think it's too much work to apply, when really they’re for anyone who would benefit from the opportunity. All you have to

May 1, 2024

do is apply, and that already gets you halfway there,” says Snell. Camps can be extremely useful for resumes and college applications, especially if they align with what you hope to pursue beyond high school.

Whether you are a kindergartener who wants somewhere to play during the summer, a sixth grader who wants to continue to perfect your music/art/dance/ writing/science skills, or a high schooler who wants a classic camp experience, nobody should feel the need to keep up with anyone, let alone the Joneses. So be sure to sign up for a Campership for the summer of 2024 and experience all the joy that summer camp can bring.

Applying for a Marblehead Rotary Campership is incredibly easy, and the sooner it is done, the better. To do so, or for more information, go to marbleheadrotary. com. Applications will be made available by May 20th.

How photography teaches you to see

Grey Collins, Sophomore I’ve probably biked, walked, or driven down Washington Street in Old Town more times than I could possibly remember. Without stopping to look around, I would simply travel to my destination with no thought except for the things that awaited me there. I would not stop to admire how the golden afternoon or morning light illuminated the trees or the brilliantly colored reflections on every storefront window.

Last fall, I started to develop an interest in photography. That interest eventually turned into a passion that I pursue weekly and post about on social media (@Greycollinsphotography). I also started to interview and photograph portraits of senior citizens at the Marblehead Council on Aging. As I started to take more trips up to Gloucester, Ipswich, Rockport, and the rest of the North Shore, I began walking slower and slower. I began looking at the world around me - seeing how the light makes white houses golden, and how puddles reflect the cars as they

One day as I was walking down my familiar Washington Street route, taking pictures of Old Town, I slowed down and tried to take in the scenery around me. My eyes were eventually drawn to a window on the side of the street, which reflected the surrounding shops perfectly. As I approached, I saw a wet nose pressed up against the corner of the bottom windowpane. I realized the window was occupied by a huge fluffy dog gazing out at the street. At first I was completely surprised by the furry face looking back at me from the other side of the glass, but then I started lining up shots. I wondered how many times I had passed by without noticing that big nose.

While I thought photography was going to help me capture the image of beautiful places, it ended up making me look around and find the beauty in the things I walk past every day.

American photographer Dorothea Lange said, “A camera teaches you to see without a camera.” Photography showed me how to look at the world around me and truly understand its beauty.

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Benji Boyd, Rachael Albert TECHNOLOGY EDITOR: Kate Twomey

REPORTERS: Nathaniel Carper-Young, Grey Collins, Tucker Crane, Aislin Freedman, Kathleen Hanson, Samuel Jendrysik, Anya Kane, Nina Lees, Georgia Marshall, Charlie Seliger, Livia Weiss

FACULTY ADVISOR: Thomas Higgins

Dorothy Masterson, 92

Dorothy Masterson, 92, passed away on April 20 at her home in Conway, after a brief decline. Born on January 15, 1932, in Marblehead, she was the daughter of John Cochran Masterson and Dorothy Goodwin Masterson.

Retired Marblehead teacher

Nancy S. Graves, 94

Nancy Tiernan (Simpson) Graves, age 94, passed away peacefully on April 24, in Marblehead with family by her side.

Nancy was the wife of the late Robert G. Graves and together they raised their family of 10 children. She was the mother of the late Carol Graves Faulkner of Attleboro who predeceased her by less than three months.

Nancy is survived by her children Barbara Graves and

Dorothy married Daniel Bennett in 1952 and they had a daughter Elizabeth in 1962. After separating from Daniel in 1970 and subsequently divorcing, she lived with Thad Danielson for 54 years. An accomplished artist, Dorothy’s artistic journey took her from private lessons with Boston artists to studying at the San Francisco School of Art and the Ruskin School of Art in England. She was known for her thoughtful conversation, humor, wit and generosity, which earned her many lifelong friends. After living in North Leverett for 18 years, she returned to Marblehead to care for her mother in her final years. In 2011, she moved back to the western Massachusetts hills. Dorothy is survived by her daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law John Kubek, granddaughter Miranda, nephews and one niece, and her long-time companion Thad Danielson. Her parents and two brothers John and Stuart predeceased her.

husband Kenneth Beaulieu of Marblehead; Thomas Soma Graves and wife Vijaya of Alachua, Florida; Paul Graves of Sun City, Florida; Gerald Graves of Marblehead; Arthur Graves of Marblehead; Maureen Graves Anderson and her husband David of Waterboro, Maine; Therese Graves Burgos and her husband William of Billerica;

Zoning

Nye acknowledged that the town might not have a viable alternative to compliance.

“It would be ideal if our Town Meeting was in the fall because at that point, you’ll see the fallout of Milton, Marshfield and Acton,” he said. “Those towns are going to have an expense litigating this against the state. They may come out that it is unconstitutional, and then it all falls apart for everybody, which is great. But it’s really unfair for the state to be putting towns in this position.”

A stark division among residents — with significant concerns about the impact on local resources, increased population density and potential changes to the town’s character — exists on the matter. Issues

Kezer emphasized that the meeting will open with test votes to ensure the system is working properly and to familiarize voters with the devices.

“Everybody’s gonna get to do some practice votes,” he said. “You’re gonna get some silly questions to vote on at the beginning.”

Turning to the warrant itself, Kezer highlighted the town’s efforts to generate new revenue without raising property taxes. These include fee increases, adopting a .75% meals tax and a 6% tax on hotel rooms, which he said could generate $800,000 to $1 million annually, primarily from out-of-town visitors.

“Marblehead is the only community in the entire region who does not implement this tax at this time,” Kezer noted, arguing that the town would

Emily Graves and her husband Christopher Gueli of Keene, New Hampshire; and Philip Graves of Lynn. She will be missed by her 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She leaves her brother Robert Simpson of Queensbury, New York.

Nancy was born in Albany, New York, to the late George and Lillian Tiernan Simpson. She was a graduate of Vincentian Institute and the College of Saint Rose, Albany, where she received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1951, a time when women rarely studied the sciences. She also attended Salem State University.

Nancy taught chemistry for 16 years at Marblehead High School and sixth-grade science for four years at Marblehead Middle School. After retiring from teaching,

Remembering Jim Lund

Jim Lund, Marblehead native and MHS class of 1974, passed away at his home in San Leandro, California, on Sept. 4, 2023, after battling cancer for almost seven years.

After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics, Jim began his career as a nuclear physicist at Radiation Monitoring Devices in Watertown, before being recruited to work at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California, retiring as senior manager of Security

such as increased traffic and strain on utilities were major points of contention.

Mason accused the board of providing conflicting information and changing the narrative around the required minimum number of zoned units between meetings.

“I think there’s a huge disconnect with everybody, because you all keep changing the narrative,” she said.

The resident also expressed doubts about the town’s ability to provide a full accounting of past state grant funding that the state could potentially withhold.

“The [Finance Committee] couldn’t even tell you guys that one the last meeting,” Mason noted.

Rather than complying with what she deemed a state “blackmail” tactic, Mason advocated exploring alternative

remain competitive with neighboring communities.

The town is also looking at what Kezer called “stranded dollars” from previously approved projects and free cash to fund over $1.5 million in capital projects.

“None of it coming from the taxes, all coming from these other sources of revenue,” Kezer said.

Other municipal articles getting attention include a proposal to create a new Community Development and Planning Department, which Kezer described as focusing on “quality-of-life matters in Marblehead,” and a controversial zoning change required by the state to encourage housing development.

On the latter, Kezer sought to allay concerns, emphasizing that the requirement is for zoning only, not actual building.

“What’s being proposed allows us to meet the requirements of

she worked in the King Hooper Mansion for the Marblehead Arts Association. Nancy was a devoted communicant and Eucharistic minister at Star of the Sea Church. She volunteered at the Marblehead Food Pantry, Lighthouse Thrift Shop, Marblehead Historical Commission, Dollars for Scholars, March of Dimes and Friends of the Council of Aging. Nancy was a longtime member of The Arrangers of Marblehead Garden Club and NEACT, the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers, emeritus. After raising her children, Nancy enjoyed traveling the world and visited many cities in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia and Scandinavia. She rode a train across Canada, passed through the Panama Canal and cruised the Danube River

Systems Engineering.

Jim worked on a range of particle physics programs, ranging from medical imaging to nuclear nonproliferation. He was a widely recognized and prodigious researcher in his field of expertise, radiation monitoring, and authored or co-authored 84 publications.

Jim was also an avid botanist, photographer, hiker and a loyal friend. He was an enthusiastic mountain, cyclocross and road cyclist. He was a formidable competitive road racer, winning his age group in the 2014 California state championships. Throughout his life, Jim thrived on outdoor adventure and as a youth was a

funding mechanisms like municipal bonds to fund projects.

“Why not ask the town about doing a municipal bond to bring money in?” Mason argued. “There are other options than relying on being blackmailed by the state.”

Select Board members echoed Nye’s concerns while emphasizing the potential financial consequences of non-compliance.

Member Moses Grader acknowledged the state’s rationale behind the MBTA Communities Act but expressed reservations about its implementation.

“I would support the passage of this, even though it has some palpably overbearing requirements,” Grader said. “But again, it is just a zoning change, and we’ll just keep a close eye on

the state,” he said. “But it still protects the character of the communities.”

Additional proposals include moving property assessing

Gatherings will be held in the hills and in Marblehead, surrounded by her art, to celebrate and remember Dorothy’s life.

and Hawaiian Islands. Nancy especially loved swimming at Grace Oliver Beach.

Visiting hours for Nancy will be held Thursday, May 2, 3-7 p.m. at Eustis & Cornell of Marblehead, 142 Elm St. Her funeral Mass will be held on Friday, May 3, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Ave, Marblehead. Burial will follow at Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Nancy’s honor can be made to the Robert and Nancy Graves Memorial Scholarship awarded to students studying engineering or science, in care of Marblehead Dollars for Scholars, PO Box 4, Marblehead, MA 01945. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome. com for Nancy’s family.

proud member of Boy Scout Troop 32 and a devoted Commercial Street “wharf rat.” He was predeceased by his parents, Jack and Dotty, and by his younger brother and sister, Mike and Anna. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Shauneen of San Leandro, California; his daughter Kim of Berkeley, California; his sister Andrea of Epping, New Hampshire; his brother John of Beverly, Massachusetts; his brother Bob of Florida; and brother Steve of Ohio.

There will be a gathering of family and friends at the park abutting Commercial Street wharf on May 18 at noon. All of Jim’s friends are invited to attend and share their memories of Jim.

that to make sure the mandate doesn’t expand.”

Select Board member Bret Murray reluctantly supported the zoning changes, emphasizing the importance of staying in compliance with state requirements.

“I’d rather fight from within, continue to get our state grants, keep this town going,” Murray said. “And then, if it changed, I’d be the first person to make the motion that we change our laws back.”

Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer provided context on the state’s perspective regarding the housing crisis and its potential impact on the Massachusetts economy.

“From the state perspective, it is a crisis that they are trying to address. And that’s the need for more housing, more supply,” Kezer said. “The advantage for

functions under the finance director, converting the Board of Assessors from an elected to an appointed body and reconstituting the Capital Planning Committee with a mix of residents and town officials.

Town Meeting, which requires a quorum of 300 registered voters, will also take up an operating budget of approximately $115 million, a 0.5% increase on the town side.

Throughout the hour-long presentation, Kezer and Attridge fielded questions from the several dozen residents in attendance. While some expressed skepticism about certain proposals, the overall tenor remained civil, with Kezer often providing detailed rationales for the articles.

Despite the new voting tech and scores of articles to get through, Attridge expressed confidence the meeting would run smoothly.

“The town through the Select

Marblehead over a lot of other communities is the current density. There are not a lot of buildable properties, and the areas that were zoned already have multifamily units in them.” Noonan expressed support for the Planning Board’s efforts to craft a zoning proposal that aligns with Marblehead’s unique character.

“The most mainstream feeling is that when it first came down, it felt very much like a one-size-fitsall situation for a coastal, inland island, shipyard peninsula town that is very built-out,” Noonan said. “But again, the process was really thorough, and the Planning Board and our town planner did an excellent job of taking advantage of areas that were already ripe for redevelopment, where redevelopment will be, frankly, a real improvement to existing situations.”

Board has done an incredible job over the past few years,” he said, “to put together the tools that will allow us to responsibly move forward.”

Kezer and Attridge did not speak about the citizens’ petitions on the warrant, which include adding a recall provision to the town’s bylaws, expanding a leaf blower ban, keeping the public bathroom at State Street Landing open year-round and others.

For complete coverage of the warrant — including articles, editorials, letters to the editors and more — check out the Current’s 2024 Town Meeting Guide at MarbleheadCurrent.org. Pull it up on your phone at the meeting as a resource.

Town Meeting will also be broadcast live on MHTV (Comcast channel 1073, Verizon channel 2128) and live streamed on MHTV’s YouTube channel Marblehead Community Access and Media.

CURRENT PHOTOS / WILL DOWD Town Meeting voters will use these new clickers for the first time.

Where in Marblehead…

This week, the Current launches a new series showcasing the photography of Marblehead High School sophomore Grey Collins. We’ll feature one of Collins’ photos, framed in an unusual way, and ask readers to identify the location in town. Go to our social media pages (@MHDCurrent) and let us know your guess. We’ll reveal the spot in the following week’s print edition. So, here goes. Where in Marblehead is ….